Soaring Through the Clouds
by Moonshine57
Summary: Birdkit is not an ordinary kit. After being abandoned, she becomes a member of OddClan; the Clan where cats have special abilities. Apart from having wings, there is a prophecy that is weighing over her shoulders too. Was OddClan meant to survive?
1. Chapter 1: Gatherings and Worries

**Chapter 1 - Gatherings and Worries **

(Specklefur's POV)

The trees swayed gently in the light Greenleaf breeze. It had been warm and sunny during the day, but now that it was close to midnight, the moon was shining bright in the sky, giving just enough light so that they were able to see where they were going.

Who is 'they', you ask? Well, they are the wild Clan cats, strong and loyal. And these Clan cats were going to the Gathering Island, which is where special meetings are held for the four Clans every moon and they would discuss things in peace.

"Hurry up, Specklefur!" someone called from the front of the WindClan cat group waiting to cross the fallen oak. Specklefur quickly snapped out of her thoughts. She had been thinking of the kits that she would deliver in a moon or so. She was already thinking of a few names to name them once they finally arrived. And since her mate was the deputy of WindClan, she knew that these kits would have to be perfect in every way possible.

"Sorry Cloudclaw! I was just thinking about our future kits," she replied in a hurry. Her mate smiled at her. He padded over to her and they touched noses. "I love you, you know that." Specklefur purred. "Of course I do! We wouldn't be having kits if we didn't. Come on, Treestar is calling us."

Sure enough, Treestar, leader of WindClan, called the rest of the Clan together. Specklefur and Cloudclaw quickly rushed over. " ... going to cross the fallen oak now. Stay close," Treestar finished as the two cats rushed over. Specklefur grunted and stood in the line, unsure whether this was a good idea kits her belly full of unborn kits. "It'll be fine," Cloudclaw murmured, reading her thoughts as he pressed his white pelt against her spotted flank.

Finally, after the WindClan medicine cat, Berrytail had crossed the log, it was her turn. With her paw, she prodded the fallen oak. It wobbled, and it looked very slippery. She gulped and hopped on, determined to get to the other side. The bark of the tree was indeed quite unstable, so she dug her claws into the soft bark to hold her down. _I can do this... _She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and sprinted to the other side. Finally, when her paws touched the soft grass on the island, she let out a large breath. She was across, and she was alive. She sighed in relief as Cloudclaw landed next to her, safe and sound. They twined their tails together and without another word, they went to find a good spot on the island to listen from when the Gathering began.

As the young couple sat down, something barreled over Specklefur with a squeak. She shoved the thing off of her with grunt. The thing was indeed a kit, or a very young apprentice. Either way, that little cat smelled strongly of fish and she wrinkled her nose. "RiverClan," Cloudclaw whispered. The small apprentice's eyes widened at the sight of the tough WindClan cats.

"I'm so sorry!" the little cat wailed. "My name is Troutpaw and I'm 7 moons old. Now that I've given you some personal information, please don't eat me!" The frightened apprentice cowered back as Cloudclaw and Specklefur started to laugh.

"We won't eat you. Don't worry," Cloudclaw soothed Troutpaw when their laughter died down. Troutpaw nodded with relief, mumbled a little thank you and scampered off to join his other apprentice friends.

Specklefur noticed Treestar talking with another she-cat from another Clan. ThunderClan, by the looks of her. "I'll be back," she whispered to her mate as she stood up and padded near the two talking cats.

"How's ThunderClan, Fernstep?" Specklefur heard Treestar asked the pretty she-cat. Fernstep grinned back at the leader of WindClan. "It's all good. There's so much prey in the forest that we aren't even able to eat it all!" But then Fernstep frowned. "Though the prey _did_ end up attracting foxes. Luckily, no one died, but Puddlefoot did end up spraining his paw pretty bad."

Treestar nodded. "Tell him that I wish him a speedy recovery. Now I have to go, the Gathering starts now," he dipped his head before scampering up the Gathering Tree to sit beside the other leaders. Specklefurl tail swished in excitement; ever since her first one, Gatherings had always been her favourite Clan activity.

"Cats of all Clans! Listen up! The Gathering will now begin!" yowled the ThunderClan leader, Scorchstar, from the Gathering Tree. Specklefur sat down and soon realized that the Gathering Island hollow was fully packed with cats from every Clan. The four leaders were seated on the high branches of the tree, while the deputies took place amongst the gnarled roots. Specklefur glowed with pride when she saw Cloudclaw sitting with the other deputies.

All of the cats in the clearing settled down, and the Gathering begun.


	2. Chapter 2: Mutant Talk

**Chapter 2 - Mutant Talk**

(Cloudclaw's POV)

Cloudclaw could tell that this Gathering would be an important one. By 'important', he meant 'interesting'. He just knew it. By the looks of Crowstar, the ShadowClan leader, he knew that _something_ was going to go down tonight. _Probably a new, stupid law_, he guessed. But as faithful deputy of WindClan, he wouldn't say anything that would get the leaders mad, especially on a full moon. _Let everything go well, StarClan,_ he thought and the moon shined brighter in response.

All the cats in the clearing were silent, waiting for their leaders to speak. Cloudclaw looked up just in time to see Scorchstar of ThunderClan open his mouth to speak. "Prey in running well in the forest. We are all very well fed. Sadly, this extra-prey business attracted a fox, male by the looks of it. We chased it out of our territory and no one was too badly hurt." The ThunderClan leader glanced at Crowstar. "I'm not sure, but it may end up in your territory at one point," Scorchstar muttered. "We chased it towards the abandoned Twolegplace, but it can always come back." The ShadowClan leader narrowed his cold blue eyes but didn't say anything. _I don't like the looks of that,_ Cloudclaw thought.

The leader of the forest cats brightened "Also, Shinestream has had a wonderful litter of kits. _My_ kits," he purred, and the crowd muttered a soft congratulations. But then his face grew dark and the murmurings stopped. "Sadly, one of the kits was, ahhh… mutant, I shall say." The crowd gasped and shook their heads. Mutantiny was a bad problem these days.

Mutants, by the way, are cats who have some sort of special ability, like a power. Their blood is not _pure_, as the cats like to say. If you are a mutant, then your children will be mutants too, and everybody will soon have deformative oddities. For that reason, they are outcasts, and since the Clans don't want their '_infection_' in their ranks, they are banished; supposed to die in the wild.

"What was the special power of this kit?" a small voice yelled from the crowd. Cloudclaw saw that it was curious little Troutpaw of RiverClan. "Well," started the ThunderClan leader, "Let's just say that Haykit should look and act like a normal moon-old kit, but instead he now looks like a apprentice and he acts as though his warrior ceremony is coming up in a half-moon."

Cloudclaw narrowed his eyes. He decided that he should speak up. "So… this means that Haykit grows and matures at a surprisingly fast rate, right?" His pelt burned as he felt all the attention on him now. He scanned his eyes over the crowd and he locked eyes with the cat he loved. Specklefur smiled and nodded encouragingly. Then Scorchstar spoke, and the attention now left his pelt. "You are correct, Cloudclaw. We thought at first that this was a mutant ability that we could all have one day, since kits would become warriors faster, but then it would mean that everybody would die at the age of around six moons." Cats nodded in understanding; aging quicker would be useful, but then you wouldn't be able to live your full life! _If mutanity is contagious… _Cloudclaw shook his head. He couldn't imagine him being a... A mutant…

Crowstar started to mutter to himself, but everyone on the island heard: "Typical ThunderClan, with their mutant kin getting born all over the place." Scorchstar turned around to face his enemy leader. "Why Crowstar, should I remind you that only two moons or so ago, you banished you own deputy Birchstep and his daughter Clearkit from the forest? Oh, and also those two kits, I forget their names… There was another one, too…" "Okay, okay!" Crowstar growled, and Scorchstar smiled in victory.

"I don't know why you're taunting us; you've probably had more mutants we ever did." After that, Crowstar hissed and shrank back into the foliage of the Talltree. Scorchstar resumed his speech as though nothing had happened.

"You will be happy to hear that we drove Haykit out right away." There were cheers from cats of every Clan, including Cloudclaw. Everybody hated those dirty-blooded mutants.

"Before I let another leader takes my place for the announcements, I wanted to add one last thing. I know that nobody likes mutants, but I think that if a kit is born with an unnatural ability, we should wait one moon before driving it out of our Clans." As soon as he finished his sentence, cats started to murmur amongst themselves. Cloudclaw strained his ears and looked over to where Speckefur was sitting. His mate was talking with a ThunderClan she-cat that he had seen before talking with Treestar, Fernstep. But he wasn't able to make out what they were saying thanks to the noise of the other cats. He looked at the other deputies; Rushwater from RiverClan, Frostleaf from ThunderClan and Snakefang from ShadowClan, but they all just shrugged. They didn't know what to think of this new rule.

The Clan leaders took a few moments to talk amongst themselves before silencing the crowd. "It has been decided. It shall become a new rule. 'A mutant kit shall not be exiled from the Clan until it is one moon old'," Scorchstar announced. A few questions buzzed through Cloudclaw's mind, but they were soon to be answered.

"Why one moon? Why not earlier?" a WindClan cat from the crowd of cats asked the leader of ThunderClan. "Because a kit is still a kit. At one moon, it has lived long enough. During that moon, you must completely isolate it from the other cats in your Clan so that the others can't get the disease. Create a 'mutant den' and keep it in it, bringing it food once every two or three days so that it doesn't die."

"Why can't you just kill it right away?" another ShadowClan cat asked. Scorchstar glared at him. "Do you want to be labeled as a murderer? I don't. Plus, you'll have mutant blood on your paws. Dirty-blood." The dark cat nodded in understanding. Scorchstar sat back down, obviously pleased with himself.

It was now RiverClan's leader, Minnowstar's turn. "We've had no mutant activity this moon, which is pretty lucky. Fish are leaping high and we would like to welcome a new warrior; Pouncefoot!" She sat back down as the Clans chanted the new warrior's name. "I have nothing else to report."

After the cheering died down, Treestar stood up before Crowstar could start speaking. The black cat sat back down with a muffled grunt and let Treestar took the stage. "It has been a glorious moon for us in WindClan. The rabbits are hopping rather slowly and they are easy to catch." He winked and continued. "We have two new apprentices: Gorgepaw and Mousepaw are now being mentored by Heatherblaze and Largebelly." He paused as the other Clans cheered. "We have had no unwanted activity since last moon." He sat down with a thump. All the cats knew that the 'unwanted activity' was in fact mutant-related things.

Crowstar finally stood up, just to be interrupted again by Treestar. "I almost forgot! Speckletail and Cloudclaw are expecting kits!" Murmurs of congratulations flooded through the clearing as Cloudclaw's chest swelled with pride. He was pretty popular amongst the Clans, and the arrival of his kits would definitely create some buzz.

Crowstar looked angry. "Are you done, rabbit-breath?" Treestar sighed, annoyed as the crowd gasped once more. It was extremely rude for a leader to call another leader something other than his own name.

Treestar nodded, though slightly ruffled. "Yes, you muddy frog. Speak before you explode." Cloudclaw purred. If Crowstar had insulted another leader, he would have definitely lost a life then and there. But Treestar was Treestar, and the leader of WindClan was pretty chill.

Crowstar cleared his throat. "Prey's good, and one of our elders, also my mother, Lichenfall died. But I have something important that I want to say!" he yowled. "With all these mutant cats running around, I have to say that the pure-blood cats might soon disappear." Cats in the crowd started whispering amongst themselves. Specklefur gave Cloudclaw a look that could only mean _I hope our kits won't be like that._

Crowstar continued. "I have decided that we should make a law up against this. I know that it's two rules in one day, but I think that it must be done." The ShadowClan leader took a deep breath.

"If a mother gives birth to two or more kits that are mutant, I think that she, so the mother, should be killed. Killing the mother would prevent future mutants from rising." Cloudclaw liked this rule a little less than the first one, but it would help purify the Clans, so he joined the cheering.

The three remaining leaders stood up to join Crowstar. For a minute, the leaders talked together and the warriors below them waited there patiently.

Finally Minnowstar spoke. "We have agreed to this rule. It is now in the warrior code. Thank you, Crowstar," she added. The Clan cats cheered his name as he stood up straighter on the branch of the Talltree. Cloudclaw thought that it was a good idea. Crowstar looked pleased. _Sometimes he can be stubborn, but right now, he's a genius!_ though Cloudclaw. He saw Specklefur chatting happily chatting with Fernstep.

After a couple more minutes of socializing, Scorchstar finally spoke up. "This Gathering is at an end. Thank you all for-"

"Stop."

Everyone turned around and went silent. The cat who spoke was Snakefang, the deputy of ShadowClan.

"Don't leave yet. I-I have a confession to make."


	3. Chapter 3: Poison Unleashed

**Chapter 3 - Poison Unleashed**

(Snakefang's POV)

Every single cat was looking at him. There was total silence in the clearing, except for the hoot of a nearby owl.

His leader, Crowstar, looked up at him. "Snakefang-" Snakefang ignored him.

"Haykit of ThunderClan was one of many mutants that roamed our land. It was never his choice to become one of them. He never hurt anybody, did he?" the brown and grey tom asked the crowd. No one answered. "Did he?" he asked again, more loudly this time. "No," a ThunderClan cat named Shinestream muttered, looking at her paws. "Exactly," he hissed.

"He didn't do anything wrong! Then why did we kick him out? We don't even know if mutanity is even contagious or not!" he pointed out. "Maybe we can even try to make friends with then. Maybe they can become a good addition in the Clans!"

He looked at Crowstar. His leader snarled at his deputy. "Never! I would never let a _thing_ like that be allowed to live in our Clan! Now let's go back to camp, and we can take on this discussion this morning," he spat out viciously.

He took a deep breath, ignoring his leader's orders. "But Crowstar, you let one of them slip out from right under your nose! You even let him become deputy, for StarClan's sake!" Snakefang argued. Crowstar hissed. "That'll never happen again, as long as I'm the leader of this Clan!"

Snakefang sighed and let out a long breath. "Oh, it already has."

Gasps of shock erupted from the Clan cats at this sudden realization. Snakefang could bet that they were all thinking, _How did we not notice?_ Crowstar, bewildered, jumped down from the Talltree branches.

"Is it true? My loyal deputy, an unwanted freak?" He spat the last words out. Snakefang held his gaze. "Yes. I never chose this destiny though. I just discovered it after Lichenfall died." Crowstar blinked in surprise. "You had something to do with this? Did you..? You murdered Lichenfall? My _mother_?" "No, I-" It was too late. Crowstar sprang at him.

Snakefang felt claws rip through his pelt and felt his blood splash on the island floor. He yowled as he turned around and Crowstar leapt again. _I have no choice,_ Snakefang thought in dismay. Snakefang dodged Crowstar. All the other cat had made a wide circle around them so that no one would get hurt. Surprisingly, the moon was still shining bright.

He pushed Crowstar to the ground and held him down with his paw. "You traitorous fool!" spat Crowstar through a mouthful of blood. Though curiously, the leader of ShadowClan snickered, "The magnificent deputy Snakefang, a mutant. Can you talk to your prey, I wonder?" Snakefang eyes widened with hate. "You killed my sister, Mistfur. You exiled innocent kits because of who they were. I'm sorry Crowstar. This is my power." He chomped down on Crowstar's shoulder.

It wasn't very hard, but Crowstar yowled in agony. Snakefang could feel some blood touch his tongue, but he kept his jaws firm on Crowstar's shoulder. The other cats in the clearing watched silently, terror etched in their faces. And suddenly, Crowstar stopped howling. As a matter of fact, he stopped moving in general.

"He's dead! Crowstar's dead!" the cats on the island cried. It was chaos.

"STOP!" Snakefang yowled. Cats stopped in mid scream. They knew better than to argue with a mutant cat who could kill someone with one small bite. "I never-"

"You just killed Crowstar! That just proved that you could've done it to Lichenfall! What did she ever do to you?" Snakefang looked up from the body of the cat that he just killed to come face-to-face with Lichenfall's old mate, Oakfeather. The Clans watched on in silence, afraid of what will happen. Even the leaders and their deputies seemed panicked.

"It wasn't my fault. I didn't know. I was told to go hunting, and that is what I did. I caught something, I think it was a mouse. When I brought it back to camp, Lichenfall took it and started eating it. Next minute, she was dead." A wail of despair rose from the cats.

Snakefang continued. "We had no idea what had killed her. I didn't even know until I figured it out… It turns out, I poisoned her. My teeth," he bared his fangs, "are poisoned, you can say. Everything I bite will become poisoned. Lichenfall ate the mouse I killed, and died. I'm the only one that can survive my own poison."

The Clan cats looked back at the body of the black-pelted leader. It was stiff and unmoving, and for a split second Snakefang felt bad for killing him. He tried to shake his head and clear his thoughts. _He deserved it… Look at what he did to your friends… Birchstep… Mistfur… _

A sudden cough made Snakefang's blood run cold. Crowstar twitched, then lifted his head up. Snakefang eyes widened. He forgot about the leader's nine lives! Crowstar had finally recovered. "Filth!" the black cat screeched. "I shall rip your pelt right off your bones and-" "I will bite you again. Don't attack me, Crowstar, I don't want to hurt you." he ended with a short plea. Snakefang still had loyalty to his leader, whatever he may have done. But Crowstar could not say the same about his deputy.

"I banish you from the Clan. You are no longer the deputy of ShadowClan," Snakefang bowed his head as Crowstar continued. "Darkheart is the new second-in-command. Leave now, you horrible excuse of a cat, or I will kill you." Crowstar meant it as a threat, but Snakefang just shrugged in response, no longer afraid. He had the real power, and Crowstar only had followers to keep him strong.

"I will go now, as the last act to my former leader. But remember," he paused and the other Clan deputies growled, "the mutants _will_ take control, someday. Cats called 'pure' will be the ones exiled, not the other way around. We will survive, though I may not, but one day, we will have our revenge!" He yowled the last words.

Just as he was about to leave, Crowstar growled, "Anyone else care to join him? It'll be a mutant-traitor day." Silence. Then-

A WindClan cat stood up. Gasps of shock rose from all the cats, though mostly from WindClan itself. "Swiftblaze, what are you doing?" Treestar whispered. "Are you… one of them?" Swiftblaze nodded. "I'm sorry Treestar. This wasn't my choice, but this is how it is." The WindClan cat's eyes scanned the crowd. The cat's eyesrested on Cloudclaw and his mate, who were sitting next to each other, looking shocked. "Sorry, brother," Swiftblaze whispered. "Good luck with the kits."

Silently, without another word, the two unwanted cats left the Gathering into the unknown darkness.


	4. Chapter 4: An Unexpected Meeting

**Chapter 4 - An Unexpected Meeting**

(Snakefang's POV)

Snakefang and Swiftblaze walked silently through the forest. They trekked all night without saying a single word to each other. Not that they had anything to say, anyway. They were both outcasts, and their Clans let them off easier than they thought; they should be considered lucky that they weren't dead.

Finally, it was dawn, and dewdrops sparkled the grass below them. Snakefang hadn't eaten since before the Gathering, and he was starving. His stomach growled loudly and, to his embarrassment, Swiftblaze looked up at him.

"You're hungry, aren't you? Why don't we stop and hunt for a while?" Snakefang was happy that he broke the silence, but he shook his head in response to Swiftblaze's question. "I can't hunt. My teeth poison everything I catch, and I don't want another dead cat because of me. I could feed myself, but what about you?" "Let's stop all the same, my paws are sore," the former WindClan cat said. Snakefang was grateful and he flopped on the floor with a loud thump.

Before he could say anything, Swiftblaze stalked back off through the trees. "Hey! Where are you going?" Snakefang called out, but no answer was returned. The former ShadowClan deputy sighed. _Great, he abandoned me. What a surprise. _

However, Swiftblaze quickly returned before Snakefang could stand up, and he was holding 2 mice in his jaws. Snakefang, surprised, thanked his new friend for the fresh-kill. They ate the mice in silence.

Then, out of curiosity, Snakefang asked, "What's your... Ability?" Swiftblaze half-smiled and said, "Watch." Swiftblaze did something that surprised Snakefang quite a bit; he ran through the trees faster than a speeding monster on the Thunderpath. Swiftblaze was even sending the dewdrops flying everywhere! Finally, he stopped next to Snakefang, clearly out of breath. "See? I would call that superspeed. 'Cause I'm super speedy." "Wow, cat, you are fast!"

They relaxed for a while, sharing tongues and talking about the Clans that they used to belong to. "- and I jumped on it and ripped a gash right through his thick pelt! I could even feel the bone under my claws. Anyway, I don't think that stupid badger will go in WindClan's territory ever again." Snakefang was only half-listening; he thought that he saw a pair of eyes flash through the bramble thickets.

"Snakefang, do you even-" "Shush! Something, or someone, is watching us!" The moor cat went silent at once as Snakefang pointed to the bramble bush with his tail. "I thought that I saw a pair of eyes…"

Suddenly, an invisible force knocked both of the cats over from where they were standing. The force of the push knocked all of the air out of Snakefang's lungs. It took a moment for him to recover. But when he stood up again, he saw Swiftblaze struggling on the ground as though he was being held down by an invisible cat. "Help…...me… S… Snake… fang..."

"No one hurts my new friend!" he yowled and lunged for a bite. He felt some fur brush across his face, but he missed his target and crashed into a tree. His teeth sank into the tree instead. "Ow!" He turned back around and saw that he had left a sizzling hole in the bark of the tree. The poison seems to be spreading…

Then, he heard a creak and the birch began to fall.

"Run!"

Swiftblaze, who had freed himself from his attacker, grabbed Snakefang by the scruff and ran quickly out of the way. Suddenly, as though in slow motion, the figure of a small cat came into view. She seemed to be appearing out of thin air. Was this the invisible attacker? Was it a mutant, to?

Snakefang realized that the tree was going to fall straight on this strange cat, and he grabbed it with his claws and flung it out of the way before the tree landed on the ground with a thump.

Swiftblaze, holding Snakefang and the other cat in his jaws, ran into a small clearing surrounded by berry bushes. The three cats collapsed on the ground, exhausted.

It was a while before either one of them spoke.

"Are… are you g-guys o-ok?" It was the little cat Snakefang had saved from the falling tree. For the first time, Snakefang got a good look at… her. He could tell that she was, well, a she-cat. _Probably 10 moons old, I'd say,_ thought Snakefang. He paused and held his breath as he stared at this cat. Something was familiar about her…

He gasped. "Clearkit!" he exclaimed. He could barely believe it. This former ShadowClan kit is still alive, even though she was condemned to death in the wild like her father, Birchstep. _Well, it definitely explains her ability to turn invisible,_ thought Snakefang. _She is a surviving mutant._ There was a pause, then-

"Clearpaw. My name is Clearpaw now," the little cat said. "And, I-I'm sorry for attacking you, before the tree fell down. It's just-" She stopped and stared at Snakefang. Her mouth dropped.

"You! I can't believe it! You were the one who _wanted_ Crowstar to chuck Birchstar and I out of the Clan!" Snakefang's head swam with questions. Clear_paw_? Birch_star_? _Another Clan must've took them in, somehow,_ he thought to himself. But he stayed calm as Clearpaw spoke with Swiftblaze.

"You're Swiftpaw, aren't you? I remember when some of my Clan caught you hunting on our territory. Like you crossed ThudnerClan's territory and everything! Huh. Wait- You can run fast, can't you? You're a … special one too? Then why do you hang with that blood-sucking traitor? He hates us! Also, why are you even here?" Clearpaw obviously had as much questions as Snakefang did. The former ShadowClan cat frowned when he was called a 'blood-sucker', but at the time he guessed that it was true. He was kind of mean back then. But before he could open his mouth to speak, Swiftblaze spoke.

"First off, I was made a warrior a few moons ago. My name is Swiftblaze," he added. Clearpaw murmured a small congratulations before he continued his explanation. "I do have a power, super fast running, as you probably saw. But I wasn't the one who saved you," he added. "Snakefang grabbed you with his claws before the tree could.. you know."

Clearpaw's eyes widened as she tilted her head in confusion. "You saved me? Why? I almost killed your friend!" Snakefang shrugged. "I didn't want to waste another life. And to answer your questions, we are both mutants." He closed his mouth.

Clearpaw gasped. "The great Snakefang has powers? Oooh, what is it?" She couldn't help but squeal like a little kit.

"My teeth are poisonous. I can't hunt or fight without killing someone." He bowed his hairy head. Clearpaw nodded. "I guess you bit the tree and a burning poison hole burned through the bark, causing it to fall, huh?" Snakefang nodded, ignoring the stares of the two cats beside him. Clearpaw jumped up.

"Dad'll be happy."

"That you almost died?"

Cleapaw laughed. "No, silly, to have two new recruits in the Clan!"

It was Swiftblaze's turn to ask questions. "I couldn't help but notice before that you said that your father's name is now Birchstar, even though when he left the Clans his name was Birchstep. Did another Clan recruit you?"

"No. We started one for all of the outcasts known as 'mutants'. When we gathered enough cats like us, we created our very own Clan, OddClan!" Her voice dropped. "That's why I attacked you. You guys were close to the entrance of camp. I guess that since you guys are like us too… You... You guys will join, right?"

Snakefang chuckled. "We have nowhere else to go, right? I'm in!" "Me too," echoed Swiftblaze.

"Let's go then! I'll explain everything along the way," she told them, and the trio walked off towards the camp where their whole lives will change.


	5. Chapter 5 and OddClan Allegiances

**OddClan**

Leader: Birchstar - red-brown tom with amber eyes who is very strong and powerful in battle

Deputy: Lightstep - very pale brown tom who weighs almost nothing; he can get blown away by the wind and step on twigs without making a sound (apprentice: Nopaw)

Medicine Cat: Dawnwish - creamy-coloured she-cat who can instantly heal wounds (apprentice: Splashpaw)

Warriors: Stonepelt - gray tom with ice blue eyes who can turn into stone (apprentice: Bigpaw)

Eggclaw - light dappled gray tom with green eyes who was hatched by an egg; he has no special abilities, which makes him a great bullying target (within this Clan, anyway)

Sparkwhisker - cream-coloured tom who can create fire using his paws, pelt and whiskers (apprentice: Vinepaw)

Fishleap - blue-gray she-cat with blue eyes who can breathe underwater

Icepath - unusually light blue-gray tom who can make ice and snow; he leaves a trail of fast-melting ice behind him (apprentice: Clearpaw)

Snakefang - Light brown tom with green eyes; his teeth are poisonous - formerly of ShadowClan

Swiftblaze - cream-coloured tom with amber eyes who can run faster than a speeding monster on the Thunderpath - formerly of WindClan

Apprentices: Bigpaw - heavy brown tom with brown eyes who can grow to the size of a bear at his will

Clearpaw - white she-cat with amber eyes who can turn completely invisible (daughter of Birchstar)

Vinepaw - white tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes who can control vines (has vines growing around her

legs and tail)

Splashpaw - light blue-gray tom with calm blue eyes who can make water with his paws (son of Fishleap)

Nopaw - brown tabby tom with yellow eyes who can turn into a Twoleg at will (former loner)

_There are no kits, Queens or Elders that we know of yet_

_**Now, back to the story!**_

_**Thanks to all of you who have read my stories and got this far!**_

_**Onward!**_

Chapter 5

(Cloudclaw's POV)

The air in the WindClan camp was tense. It had been a half-moon since the last Gathering, and the cats were still quite shocked about Swiftblaze's departure. Cloudclaw had been surprised to learn that his own brother was one of the stupid _mutants_, but this was not the only reason why the camp was restless.

The camp had been attacked by a fox only yesterday. The old elder Brownstripe had been killed, and Specklefur had been gravely injured.

To add to their problems, her kits were coming. Now.

Cloudclaw hoped that she would be ok. He was her mate, after all. But their medicine cat Berrytail was unsure of what would happen to the beautiful speckled she-cat. Cloudclaw could tell that the wise old cat was hiding something from him, but he did not know what.

He was standing outside of the nursery, waiting for a signal. What the signal was, he did not care; anything good would be news to him.

He heard a wail of agony from inside the den. He reminded himself of what Berrytail had said; _"Don't come in until we call you, no matter what!" _she had warned. But a second howl of pain split his ears turning his blood cold and he burst inside the den.

There was his mate, covered in yesterday's wounds, and leaning over her was Berrytail and her apprentice, Herbpaw. Herbpaw was trying to stop the bleeding of the wounds as Berrytail decided what herbs to give to the wailing cat. His eyes widened and he padded closer to his mate. He realized that she didn't kit yet, despite the screams from before.

"Herbpaw, put some cobwebs and a goldenrod poultice on her wounds... I'll give her some coltsfoot...- Cloudclaw, I told you to stay up there! Well, I guess now that since you're in here you can help..."

Cloudclaw nervously padded over to her, not quite knowing what to do.

"Will she be ok?" he asked. Pause. Then- "I'm not sure. I've given her cobwebs and goldenrod for her wounds and coltsfoot and poppy for..." She lost her train of thought. "The wounds from yesterday have weakened her. All we can do is pray to StarClan."

Cloudclaw thought, _Please, StarClan let her be ok..._

"Cloudclaw, pay attention or I'll have to kick you out of here. Take this stick and give it to Speckletail."

Cloudclaw snapped out of his prayer and held the rather thick branch in his jaws. "Waf's it for?" he muttered through a mouthful of bark as he looked at the medicine cat.

"Tell her to bite down hard on it when the kits come. I find that it helps. Herbpaw, you're pressing too hard!"

Herbpaw was applying cobwebs to her patient's wounds, and Cloudclaw's mate was starting to moan and groan. "Stop hurting her!" Cloudclaw growled at the younger she-cat. "She's in enough pain as it is!"

"I'm doing it properly, I'm not pressing hard at all, she's just starting to..." The apprentice pat Specklefur's large belly and her eyes widened. "The kits! I can feel them!"

Cloudclaw, with the stick in his jaws, rushed over to give his weak mate the stick. Berrytail had swung around at the same time to feel Specklefur's belly. "Yes... they are coming..."

He crouched down next to his mate as she mumbled a small thank you. Then, a muffled yowl escaped from her mouth and she gripped the stick hard enough until it started to splinter. "Berrytail! Herbpaw! Help!"

Berrytail loomed over Specklefur as Cloudclaw whimpered, "Will she be ok?"

Berrytail didn't answer. Another agonizing yowl and, finally, a little gray kit slithered out onto the moss beside him.

Without thinking, he took his kit, a little gray she-cat and started licking her furiously. Berrytail gave him a nod of approval as a second kit, a light brown tom came out right after his sister.

Cloudclaw reached to take the little tom, but Berrytail passed him to Herbpaw. He did not argue for the sake of his mate's life.

Berrytail patted Specklefur's belly once more. "One more left," she whispered. Cloudclaw sighed and went right back to licking his adorable she-kit.

Specklefur gave a moan. "I... I can... f-feel it," she whimpered. "If I d-don't... m-make it, Cloudclaw..." she huffed, and started to cough.

"You will make it, my sweet, I can tell. Just one more!" he whispered back to his weak mate. Berrytail then said, "One... Two... Go!"

Specklefur yowled so loud, Cloudclaw could almost feel her pain. It was blinding... He closed his eyes, waiting for it to end. Then, as quickly as it had started, it stopped. He opened his eyes and saw a little ginger-cream kit wailing on the moss. He started crying with joy. "You did it!"

Specklefur lifted her head and started to purr. "Pass th-them over. I wanna s-see."

Cloudclaw passed the gray she-kit to his mate and Herbpaw gave them the little brown tom. "That's one, two... Berrytail? The third?" He saw Berrytail stare at the youngest kit in awe. Her eyes were wide and she seemed to have stopped breathing for a moment. "Berrytail? Our last kit?"

Berrytail shook her her head to clear her thoughts. "I.. I... I'm sorry. It's just... Your kit... Come on Herbpaw, let's give them a moment..." Berrytail's apprentice nodded and followed her mentor out of the nursery. Herbpaw had looked at the kits the same way Berrytail did. As he peered out of the den he heard the camp cheer as the medicine cats announced that they had three healthy kits. _But if they were healthy, why did you look at them like that?_

He returned into the cozy part of the den, where he was surprised to see Specklefur sobbing. "... Honey?"

Specklefur stopped crying at the sound of his voice. "Co-come h-here and s-see this..."

He looked down at his youngest kit; a ginger-cream she-cat. He stared at her closer and then let out a wail of disbelief.

His kit had wings. Feathery, smooth _wings_.

"Oh Specklefur..." he murmured.

Specklefur shook her head. She pulled the two normal kits closer to her. Then, after a hesitation, got the winged one too. "We s-should name them..." she rasped between sobs. "Oh, StarClan, why me..."

Cloudclaw cuddled up against his mate and his three newborn kits. "It doesn't matter how they look. They are perfect to me." "But one of t-them is m-m-mutant!" "Then let's show her the love of parents before she... goes away." Another sob from Specklefur. "But... O-okay."

"This one," he pointed to the oldest; the gray she-cat, "should be... Pebblekit? Silverkit?" Cloudtail wondered aloud. Speckletail thought for a moment. "Ashkit," she replied, "because she looks like she rolled in a pile of ashes." Ashkit, at the sound of her name, yowled for food. Speckletail purred weakly as she pushed her kits closer to her belly.

Cloudclaw picked up the little brown tom. "I was thinking Branchkit for this one, since he looks as fragile as a twig. It matches his pelt too," he added. Specklefur nodded. "Branchkit. I like it," she purred again. "What about... this one?"

Cloudclaw sighed. He looked at the little helpless kit with wings coming out of her shoulders. "Wingkit. Or Skykit. Maybe Cloudkit after me?" he joked. But Specklefur disagreed. "Birdkit. One day she will open her wings and soar through the clouds..." She sobbed again. "Oh my kit..."

Cloudclaw loved his mate, but right now he didn't feel like he could look at her right now. "I'll go tell the Clan." And he slipped outside to join the other excited cats in the clearing. They had no idea of what the nursery was hiding.


	6. Chapter 6: The Bird's Banishment

**Chapter 6 **

**(Specklefur's POV)**

Specklefur waited silently in the nursery. Her body ached all over thanks to her wounds and the process of kitting. Nonetheless, she didn't make a sound because she wanted to hear how her Clan would react when Cloudclaw told them about their mutant kit, Birdkit. There was a pause, then-

Cries of outrage erupted from the clearing. Specklefur collapsed into tears. She didn't understand; her father was the leader, her mate was the deputy; why had StarClan done this to her? She cuddled closer to her two perfect kits, singling the odd one out. She knew that Cloudclaw had asked her to take care of the strange kit, but she ignored the promise she made. _I'm not going to get attached to that kit,_ she decided. It would spare her some grief when it was time to banish her from the Clan.

_I only have two kits; Branchkit and Ashkit,_ she decided. _They are perfect. Not the other one! _Her ears pricked up as she heard Treestar growl from outside. "Is this true?" he asked Cloudclaw. Specklefur knew that he was nodding. "My daughter… Let me see her!"

Specklefur couldn't see outside, but she was able to see Berrytail's pelt shadow blocking the entrance to the nursery. "She is weak. So… please, just don't give her a hard time," Berrytail replied, then moved out of the way to let the Clan leader go through.

Treestar came charging in. "Specklefur…" He gulped. There was an awkward moment of silence between the father and daughter. Specklefur felt really bad. She had given birth to a monster; kin of Treestar, a mutant?

Specklefur started to cry again. She pressed her nose into her father's fur. "It wasn't your fault. The mutant genes in her must've been on Cloudclaw's side of the family," Treestar tried to comfort his daughter.

"These two are beautiful," he pointed to Ashkit and Branchkit, trying to take her mind off things. "What are their names?"

Specklefur hiccoughed. "The brown tom is Branchkit and the gray she-kit is Ashkit," she replied. "This one is Birdkit." She was surprised to hear the coldness of her own voice. Treestar nodded. "We should bring you to the medicine den. Bring your kits with you."

Specklefur tried to stand, but she was so weak that she flopped over, panting. Treestar picked her up by the scruff as Berrytail and Clouclaw entered the den and picked up the two normals kits, leaving the third mutant one to wail on the moss.

* * *

**One moon later (Treestar's POV)**

Today was the day.

Treestar had given Specklefur's kit one single moon before it would be banished. The little kit didn't know, of course, what would be happening.

He replayed the last moon over again in his head.

Specklefur didn't go anywhere near the kit. Well, nobody would, except Cloudclaw and Berrytail, just to check on her. He had asked his strongest warriors Largebelly and Wolffang to construct a small den for the kit to stay in at all times, since nobody wanted to stay in the same den as her. The poor kit had only known the walls of the nursery and the 'Mutant den'.

The routine was the same every day; they would drop off a single mouse in the Mutant den at sunhigh so that Birdkit could eat. If Treestar was allowed to kill her, he would have done that already but the Clan code states that no cat should ever be killed. Treestar didn't wan't to be labeled as a murderer either.

Strangely, he felt no pity for this kit (or grandchild, but he refused to accept it). But today, it has been one moon since the kit's birth, and today was the day of the banishment. Treestar couldn't wait.

He padded over to the Mutant den. He peered into the darkness and called, "Birdkit? Come out please."

He heard a cat stir from the inside the tiny den. "Really? I can come out now?"

The voice was extremely weak. Since Specklefur did not want to be anywhere near the kit, Birdkit had not gotten the proper nutrition that a young kit needed. Treestar was actually surprised to know that she was still alive.

Birdkit sprang out of the den and Treestar could not hold in a gasp. This cat's wings were now magnificent and beautiful. When she had moved into the den, they had been small and cramped. But now they shone with all the colours of the nature. He took a step back in surprise.

Birdkit's eyes widened. "You don't have wings! I thought all cats had wings!"

Treestar ignored her. "I have to call a meeting. Stay in your den. Then after the meeting... We'll go on a adventure!" He tried to sound excited, and his acting worked. The weak kit leaped in the air. "R-really? I can't wait!" She scurried back into her den, eyes shining.

Treestar sighed. If this kit wasn't a mutant, it would have made a great warrior. But now she was condemned to die in the forest.

Treestar walked across the camp and lept onto the Smallhill (which was the tallest point in the hollow WindClan camp) and yowled, "All cats old enough to chase after speeding rabbits join here for a Clan meeting!"

Cats immediately started to pour out of the dens and into the clearing to hear what their leader had to say.

He saw Loudbelly, his faithful friend who had backed him up at the last Gathering when things didn't go so well with ShadowClan; Rosethorn, the mother he loved; his beautiful mate, Snowpetal; and Cloudclaw, supporting Specklefur. She had just finished healing from the wounds she had gotten a moon ago with the foxes, from how bad they were. She had a determined look on her face; she was ready to get rid of her kit no matter the cost. Her kits, Branchkit and Ashkit, followed closely behind her, unaware that the cat that they would banish was indeed their sister. Their mother had kept them well away from Birdkit and she never planned for them to know the truth; that they were related to that _thing_.

He glowed with pride as he thought of the two kits. Those were, at least, grandchildren to be proud of.

Ashkit, the bigger gray she-kit was turning into a brilliant fighter. She would always crush her opponent (usually Branchkit) easily. The smaller one, Branchkit, was more quiet than his sister. He seemed to actually think before he spoke, unlike his sister. He would rather practise stalking than play-fight. Either way, he was going to turn out a better hunter than his sister, Treestar could tell. Branchkit also seemed faster than Ashkit.

Right now, they were bickering on what their warrior names should be as they sat in the clearing.

"When I'm gonna be a warrior, my name's gonna be Branchpouncer!" "That's soooooo stupid! Your name is going to be Branchbrain 'cause you're dumb!" "You're mean! Yours is going to be Ashdung!" "Hey! I'm going to be Ashleopard! No wait, I'll be Ash_star_! You can be my deputy, Branchbrain!" "You are sooooooo-" Their mother silenced them with a hush.

Treestar then realized that his whole Clan was waiting for his to talk. He cleared his throat and whispered loud enough so that little Birdkit could not hear.

"Today is the day we get rid of the mutant with wings." Cheers from the crowd met his ears. "I'm going to 'take her out on a patrol'. I was planning to bring Specklefur and Cloudclaw with me."

Specklefur slightly nodded, obviously wanting to see her mutant child go away. Cloudclaw shook his head instead. "I rather not. I have other things to do," he muttered, ducking his head.

Treestar narrowed his eyes. Cloudclaw seemed to have a little bit of affection for the strange she-cat. The WindClan leader sighed. _I'll ask about it later,_ he silently promised himself.

Specklefur sighed, jolting him back to the real world. "It's ok. I'm coming, even if Cloudclaw isn't." Treestar thanked her with the dip of his head.

"I'll need another warrior to come with us on the patrol. Anyone...?"

"I'll do it," a young cat named Moorpelt spoke up. Treestar nodded. "Thank you. Cloudclaw, Snowpetal, you're in charge while I'm gone, alright?" He jumped down off the Smallhill. "Clan dismissed! Cloudclaw, arrange a sunhigh patrol please."

Treestar walked over to Birdkit's den. "Birdkit, we are going to go on a special patrol near ThunderClan's border. Want to come?" A weak squeal of excitement answered him inside the den. "S-sure!"

She leaped out of the den, looking frail and exhausted. Everybody around her flinched as she walked by. Luckily, Birdkit didn't seem to notice.

She stopped in front of Treestar, who was now waiting for her at the foot of one of the boulders guarding the den. Specklefur was just telling Boulderpaw, her apprentice to take a day off. She then bounded over to join the other WindClan cats that were going on the 'patrol'.

Little Birdkit bounded with excitement. "Why are we going to the ThunderClan border? Will we fight? Are we going there to hunt? I don't know how to -" Treestar interrupted the winged kit with a hush. "We'll explain along the way. For now, be quiet."

They left the camp quickly; many cats had whispered 'good luck' for their mission.

As soon as they were an earshot away from the camp, Treestar improvised a story.

"ThunderClan has been stealing our prey," he whispered. "We are going to ask them to stop. If they refuse, we will attack them." Treestar thought that this story was dumb, but Birdkit believed every single word of it. "Okay! But why do you need me?"

Moorpelt, shrugged, playing along with Treestar's act. "You're one of the strongest cats in the Clan, Birdkit. We need your help. Also, since this will be your first battle, it will be good for experience.

Treestar shot the young tom a grateful glance as Birdkit's eyes widened. "Really? Y-you think that I'm one of the strongest cats in the whole Clan? Even stronger than the deputy Cloudpaw?"

Treestar nodded. "Yes, definitely. And it's Cloud_claw_, not Cloudpaw," Treestar corrected her. Birdkit smiled and Treestar could not help but feel a tiny twinge of guilt. She didn't know that her father was Cloudclaw and that her mother was Specklefur. She didn't even know that she had a brother and a sister, of that Treestar himself was her kin. She would die without knowing who her family was.

They walked for a few minutes in silence. Specklefur, Treestar and Moorpelt were still looking for a nice place to abandon the kit.

Birdkit decided to break the silence. "Treestar, can you make my warrior name 'Birdstrong'? Because if I really _am_ strong, then I want to be named like that," she squeaked. Treestar smiled at the kit. "Sure. And if you help us win the battle today, we'll have your warrior ceremony right away after we get back to camp."

Birdkit's eyes brightened again, and she grinned widely. Treestar narrowed his eyes at the kit when she turned her head.

Moorpelt stiffened up beside him. The brown tabby cat was looking at a pile of rocks not too far from them. Treestar knew that Moorpelt thought that this might be a good place to leave the frail kit. "Um... I saw a rabbit over there. I-I'll go g-get it." He looked at Birdkit, who was in the midst of asking Specklefur about why she wasn't the deputy, and then he looked at his leader, who gave a little nod to show his understanding. Moorpelt scampered off towards the rocks without another word.

"Let's rest," Treestar meowed. This would give them time to think and wait for Moorpelt to finish checking the pile of stones.

Birdkit moaned and groaned; she was hungry, she was tired and she wanted to go home. "C-can we go back home n-now? We c-can fight ThunderClan tomorrow o-or something…" "No, we must keep moving," Specklefur told her daughter. "Don't you want your warrior name?"

Just then, Treestar saw Moorpelt rushing over to them, a fake look of terror on his face. "ThunderClan! I saw them! We have to hide!"

Treestar realized that this was part of Moorpelt's plan. "Oh no! Quick, to the pile of rocks over there!" he cried. Birdkit, with a look of terror on her little face, sprinted towards the boulders, all earlier excitement forgotten. Moorpelt, Specklefur and Treestar fell behind to discuss.

"There is this little hole in the ground, surrounded by rocks. It will look huge to a kit, I'm sure! Birdkit won't be able to get out of it; I'm positive," Moorpelt murmured. Treestar smiled.

"But what if she flies out?" a determined Specklefur asked "She has wings, after all." "She is so weak, she can barely walk. She doesn't even know how," Moorpelt replied. Treestar nodded. "Good work, Moorpelt. Ah, we're here."

They had arrived at the rocks. Birdkit was slumped on the ground with exhaustion. Specklefur swiftly grabbed her scruff. Birdkit huffed.

Moorpelt quietly showed them them where the hole was. Treestar was impressed. The hole was hard to see, and it seemed deep enough for a kit to get stuck in here. Treestar nodded to Specklefur and she deposited her daughter into the whole.

Birdkit stirred. "W-why d-did you p-p-put me in here?" she gasped for breath. Her weak ribs heaved. She shivered from the cold. She was sick and malnourished; a perfect prey for a hungry fox.

"ThunderClan won't see you in here. Stay low. We're going to go get some other cats to help us fight. We'll be back before sunset, we promise." Birdkit nodded. She probably didn't want to fight ThunderClan anymore, by the looks of her. "C-come back s-s-soon..."

Treestar nodded and stepped away from the hole. Specklefur gave a long, last loathing look before joining up with her two other Clanmates.

They trekked away from the rock , and when they were positively sure that the mutant kit couldn't hear them, they smiled and laughed as the sun went down.

* * *

**(Birdkit's POV)**

She shivered. What was taking so long? The three cats were supposed to be back hours ago. Where were they?

She was cold. She was hungry. She curled up into a tighter ball, her wings acting like a cover. A few more minutes passed.

She now positively sure that they wouldn't come get her. She remembered the ways the cats looked at her when she was in the camp. That look was called dislike, loathing. She thought that Specklefur had given her one of those looks right before she left to get the others to help fight the ThunderClan warriors. She thought that she had imagined it. But now she knew that it was real.

She cried and wailed for help, but no one came. The moon shone bright in the sky. She stopped crying only when she thought that her voice would fade away.

She sank into the hard, dirty floor and sniffed. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

An hour-or-so later, she started hearing voices. She kept her eyes closed anyway; she was half asleep.

"I found one. Look, she has wings and smells of WindClan. Ew," a female voice whispered so quietly that Birdkit could have imagined it.

"Why, you don't smell to good yourself," a tom whispered back. "Here, I'll bring her up -"

"No, Snakefang! Let me do it. You'll poison her."

Birdkit felt herself lift off of the ground of the floor. She moaned, eyes still closed.

"Oh my gosh! She looks half-dead! What had that Clan done to her? We should bring her to Dawnwish back at camp as soon as we can!" a third voice murmured. "Come on, let's go."

The three mystery cats took Birdkit in their jaws and she lost consciousness and drifted to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7: The New Life

**Chapter 7 **

(Birdkit's POV)

Birdkit was dreaming.

She was hunting in the undergrowth, near the ThunderClan border. She had no wings on her back and felt the relief on not having anything weighing her down. She also felt well-fed and healthy too, unlike when she was awake.

She stopped and lifted her nose in the air and she smelled the scent of rabbit. She waited tensely for a moment. Suddenly, she saw a flash of white and brown run in her direction. It obviously did not see her standing there.

The rabbit didn't even know it was coming. Birdkit lept into the air and landed straight on it's back. The rabbit struggled under her, then went limp as she bit hard on it's neck.

But instead of tasting blood and fur, she felt something soft and smelling of soil under her tongue. She woke up and heard someone, a tom, laughing.

"Pff! WindClan cats are weird! Do they eat their moss in their sleep every night? No wonder they're so skinny! ...Or did they try to starve her to death?"

That wasn't a voice she was familiar to. She opened her eyes.

She was in some sort of den; bigger than hers back at the WindClan camp, with a stone wall with plants stuffed in some of the cracks. The other half of the strange den was lined with a wall consisting of lichen and brambles. There was a little pool somewhere in the corner. _I must be inside some sort of Medicine cat den,_ she thought. Then she gasped, turning her head around.

A beautiful-looking cream-coloured she-cat was standing over her. A little way behind that cat was a shy-looking light blue-gray tom. He had bent his head in embarrassment.

The creamy she-cat lay down next to Birdkit, who was speechless. _Where am I? Treestar? Specklefur? Moorpelt? Is this ThunderClan?_ Birdkit didn't think that ThunderClan would be this nice to her; if this was ThunderClan, anyway.

Birdkit looked at the she-cat who was lying down next to her. She opened her mouth to speak, but the pretty she-cat interrupted.

"I can tell that you have a lot of questions," meowed the creamy cat. Her voice was as soothing as honey, as soft as a newborn kit's fur. "But before you ask anything, let me introduce myself. I am Dawnwish, the medicine cat of OddClan. And this is my apprentice, Splashpaw," she pointed to the shy tom in back of her.

Birdkit's head swam with questions. "Uh... What's OddClan? I mean, I thought that there were only four Clans. I-I don't think OddClan was one of them..."

Dawnwish smiled. _She's pretty,_ Birdkit couldn't stop herself from thinking.

Dawnwish spoke. "Ah, yes. You thought, just like the other Clan cats, that there were only four Clans." She paused. "Well, we are the fifth Clan; more distanced, more smarter, more special."

"You see, OddClan is a Clan for the unwanted cats in every Clan. We also let in some loners and kittypets," she added to herself. Then she continued.

"These special cats are what we would call mutants. I-"

"I've heard of them!" piped up Birdkit. "Wait a minute... You guys are the weird cats! You guys are mutants! That means you don't deserve to live, acording to the rest of my Clan! When I tell Treestar that I've found some banished survivors..." Birdkit stood up. But she was so weak and skinny that the effort of getting up was painful. She sprang at Splashpaw. "I'll definitely get my warrior name!

Splashpaw dogged Birdkit's 'attack' quickly and Birdkit crashed into the stone wall that was stuffed with the herbs. She didn't try to stand up again. Then she noticed that her front left paw was bleeding.

But the 'odd cats' seemed okay with this. The pretty cat, Dawnwish just lightly chuckled at her and Splashpaw darted out of the Medicine den without another word. Birdkit's eyes watered. "You… You cats are mean… Wait 'till I tell Treestar about this…"

Dawnwish inspected Birdkit's paw with narrowed eyes. "Silly cat. You're weak; don't go around and try to attack other cats who are stronger than you! You'll get hurt again."

Birdkit frowned. "Hey! I'm not weak! Treestar said that I was one of the strongest cats in the Clan!" she retorted. Dawnwish smiled. "Sure. Whatever you say, Strongcat."

Birdkit looked at her injured paw as more pain started to settle in. "It hurts... It hurts... M-make it stop..."

"Alright. Patience!" she snapped. Birdkit closed her mouth with a whimper.

Dawnwish pressed her nose to Birdkit's bloody paw. She murmured something about insolent kits, and Birdkit felt a tingle in her paw. Dawnwish removed her nose from Birdkit's paw, and the little kit gasped. Her paw had completely healed.

"Mutants aren't all that bad, little one. We use our powers to help one another for survival, not for greed or strength. StarClan gave us these powers because they knew that we would be able to do great things later in life. I," she continued, "have the ability to heal any wound in a matter of seconds. Splashpaw- Oh good you got some."

Splashpaw had just entered the den with two large mice in his jaws. "Here," he mumbled as he passed one to Birdkit. "Just don't attack me again.

Birdkit looked at the prey. What if this strange Clan had tampered with her food? Who knows what they were able to do; Dawnwish was able to heal wounds in jus a second or two! Birdkit glanced at the peice of prey. But she was so hungry... She sniffed it cautiously, then took a big bite.

Flavour exploded through her mouth. She didn't taste anything out of the ordinary, so she finished it hungrily and felt stuffed.

She felt like sleeping, but stayed awake for the sake of learning more before she returned to WindClan.

"What's your power, Splashpaw?" she asked the shy tom. He looked at his feet and mumbled something that she could not hear. "What was that? Sorry, I didn't hear it."

Dawnwish sighed. "He has to learn how to speak up. Anyway, he can make water. Splashpaw," she turned away from Birdkit, "I'm pretty sure that Birdkit is thirsty... Would you...?"

Splashpaw nodded. He went to the little puddle that was in the corner and bent over it. He blocked what he was doing from view. Birdkit shuffled to the side, trying to see, and when Splashpaw removed himself from the picture, the puddle was bigger than before.

Birdkit was aware that the two cats were staring at her. She swallowed.

"T-thank you for t-the f-fresh kill. I s-should be going... I w-won't t-tell anyone… If y-you want..." She made a break for the entrance.

She ran outside of the Medicine den and she gasped.

The OddClan camp was huge. On one side, thorny vines were protecting the side of the giant clearing. On the other side, the start of a giant stone mountain was present. The Medicine den was positioned right on the side of that.

There was a thick oak tree right in the middle of the big clearing. Under the roots was some sort of den. There was another den hidden within the foliage of the thorny vines. Another was situated in the cracks of the giant stone wall.

Suddenly, a dark shadow loomed over her. Birdkit looked up and saw a giant cat standing over her. "Are you lost, little one?" The cat had a kind voice, but Birdkit was still terrified out of her wits.

She turned around, away from the nice giant cat. She then saw Dawnwish and Splashpaw coming out of their den. She raced over to them.

She whimpered. "I wanna go home!"

Dawnwish smiled. "You are home, sweety"

"Welcome to OddClan."

"Your _new_ home."


	8. Chapter 8: Meeting the Clan

_**Thank you guys for reading and reviewing! Here's the next chapter; enjoy!**_

* * *

**Chapter 8 (Treestar's POV)**

It was dawn. The air was nice and warm in the late Greenleaf breeze, and the moor was hopping with prey.

It had been two full days since the banishment of Birdkit. Treestar's paws were itching to find out what happened to her. _Did she escape? Did she perish?_

_We should go check it out,_ decided Treestar.

He jumped onto the Smallhill and yowled, "All cats old enough to chase after speeding rabbits join here for a Clan meeting!"

The WindClan warriors immediately started to pour out of their dens. Specklefur and Cloudclaw were talking silently, and Ashkit and Branchkit were pouncing on each other's tails. ("Owwie! What did you do that for?" "Well you started it!" "No, you did!")

Once all the cats were seated, Treestar commenced.

"We all remember that 2 days ago, we banished the mutant that had taken refuge in our camp." He paused and took a breath. "I would like to go back to the spot where we left her to, ahhhh... see was has happened." Murmurs of agreement rose from the crowd.

"Who will you take?" piped up Boulderpaw, Specklefur's apprentice. Treestar thought for a moment.

"It'll be me, Moorpelt again, Snowpetal and you, Boulderpaw, if you want to come, of course.

"Ooh yes yes yes yes YES!" yowled the young apprentice, though he did seem a little uncomfortable at the thought of seeing a dead, starved, mutant cat.

Cloudclaw spoke up. "Why aren't Specklefur and I going? We want to see her dead, after all." "Daddy, daddy, why do you want to see that weird bird-cat thing? We need you! Not that dead piece of dung!" "Yeah, we're your kits, not her!" Cloudclaw looked slightly uncomfortable at this, but he stayed silent.

But Treestar nodded. "That is why. The patrol will leave now. Those coming with me, eat something quick and we'll be on our way." He jumped off the Smallhill. "Clan dismissed! And I need a sunhigh patrol."

The cats on patrol ate quickly and left the camp.

Moorpelt, who was Boulderpaw's uncle, said "If you don't want to see the dead cat if you don't want to. There is nothing bad about that..." "It's ok, I need to toughed up. Specklefur says I need to see something like this to show the meaning of life, and that it won't always be butterflies and rainbows." Then he started singing.

"We are on a mission! A mutant, mutant mission! This is Mission Mutant Mayhem! La la laaa..." Snowpetal rolled her eyes and flattened her ears.

"Alright, Boulderpaw," meowed Treestar rather loudly, and Boulderpaw stopped singing about the mission they were on. He looked up at his leader. "Yes?"

"Let's test your hunting skills until we get to the Rockpile." "Okay," he meowed in response and dropped into a hunting crouch.

On the way to the Rockpile, Boulderpaw caught 2 rabbits, 2 mice and a squirrel. He missed the sparrow, but Snowpetal caught it before it had a chance of flying away.

"Good job. I'll have a word with your mentor and we'll see if we can make you a warrior. Your sister, Pinkpaw, too." Boulderpaw smiled and purred in excitement.

Suddenly Moorpelt stopped. "We're here," he whispered quietly.

The little patrol made it's way in and out of the boulders until they came to the spot were the hole had been. They looked down the hole and-

Empty.

"What?" screeched Moorpelt and Snowpetal. "How-" Boulderpaw looked afraid. "What if she c-comes back a-a-and tries to kill us? Oh no!"

But Treestar wasn't worrying about that. He leaned into the hole.

There was a faint smell of Birdkit, mixed in with... stinky dung and undergrowth. This smell reminded him of...

Foxes. That's right.

While the others were wailing. Treestar looked back at the hole and studied the paw prints at the bottom of the pit.

It looks as though she had struggled at first. There were marks that showed that she tried to escape, but she wasn't in the right heath to do so. Then, pelt marks showed that she had fallen asleep or... died. Yes, that is what happened. The faint smell of death.

Leading out of the hole were paw prints much bigger than hers. This showed that the foxes had been here to take the kit, probably as prey, thinking that is was a bird. He smiled. It all fit perfectly together. He turned towards this wailing mate, warrior and apprentice.

"She is dead." Silence met his words.

"Are you sure? How can you be sure?" "See for yourself."

"A fox took her thinking it was a piece of prey. You can see struggle marks where she tried to climb up, and pelt marks were she fell down. Even if she didn't die, the fox probably ate her already."

More silence. Then-

"Wooooooo! Yay! Hip hip, hurray! Yahooo!" Boulderpaw started saying all these random words as he twirled around in delight.

"Come on, let's go home. Moorpelt, Snowpetal, you did great. You too, Boulderpaw."

As the cats walked home, Treestar could not help but think about what Snakefang had said 2 moons ago.

_You are wrong, Snakefang, you are wrong. The time of mutants has not come. It's still time for the Clans to rule._

* * *

**(Birdkit's POV)**

Birdkit stared from Dawnwish to Splashpaw to the big, scary dude. This wasn't her home! Her home was in WindClan!

"Y-you have t-to let me leave? I-I need to go home! Treestar will b-be waiting." Her voice rose into a wail.

She wasn't a mutant! She had no powers! She was Birdkit, the underfed kit of WindClan! One day, she was planning to reach for the top as Birdstar. But her dreams were crushed as Dawnwish spoke next.

"I'm sorry, Birdkit, but you are a mutant. Your wings," she spoke gracefully, but filled with sorrow, "are not normal. In fact, you shouldn't have any at all."

This hit Birdkit hard in the face. Who cares about if you have wings or not! "I'm not the only one," she replied.

Dawnwish shook her beautiful tabby cream head. "You are the only one. I'm sorry."

Birdkit couldn't believe it. Her, a mutant? But than she thought, _This could be a trap._

"This isn't true! You guys are just trying to make me your... prisoner!" she yowled with all her might and charged at the big cat.

The cat lazily jumped out of the way. Birdkit figured out that it was no use to attack him; he would squash her flat. So instead, she ran at Splashpaw again.

She was still quite weak, and Splashpaw was nimble. She charged.

Suddenly, water spurted out from under her feet, making the ground slippery. She slipped and fell flat on her face, swallowing a paw-full of mud.

"Ew!" she spat. She got back up on her feet and saw Splashpaw sitting patiently near Dawnwish. "Don't mess with the best," he joked.

Birdkit bent her head with embarrasment. "So it's true? I... am a mutant?"

Dawnwish nodded. "I'm sorry, little one. Anyway, now that you're one of us, let us show you around."

Birdkit followed, her head bent in shame. _There were no ways out of this mess._

Dawnwish showed her the den under the oak tree in the middle of the camp. "This is called the Ancient Oak. It is where Birchstar sleeps."

Birdkit cocked her head. "Who's Birchstar?"

Dawnwish smiled. "Well, he's the leader. He's the big cat who you tried to attack before." Birdkit gulped. "Oops," she mumbled. Dawnwish just smiled. _I think she likes to smile._

Birdkit looked around. She could not see that big, bulky shape anywhere. "Where do you think he is?" Dawnwish shrugged. "A cat's gotta do what a cat's gotta do, I guess."

They walked around a little more. Dawnwish and Splashpaw showed her the apprentice's den (they also met an apprentice named Clearpaw in there who was trying to sleep; but all the 'racket' outside was making it impossible) and the warrior's den, which was unoccupied at the time. They walked around a little more.

Birdkit then realized that she was the youngest cat to have ever set foot in this camp. She asked Dawnwish why, but she only said, 'for gruesome reasons.' She decided to ask Splashpaw later.

They also met some more cats with interesting powers. There was Stonepelt; a gray tom with ice blue eyes who can, pretty much, turn into stone (like a moving statue), Icepath; an unusually light blue-gray tom who can freeze stuff and make snow (he leaves a trail of frozen, crunchy grass behind him, Sparkwhisker; a cream-coloured tom who can create fire using his paws, pelt and whiskers, Bigpaw; heavy brown tom with brown eyes who can grow to the size of a bear at his will (When he showed it to her, Birdkit screamed and hid inside the medicine den for a very long time) and Vinepaw; white tortoishell she-cat with green eyes who can control vines (has vines growing around her legs and tail).

"There aren't very many cats in this Clan," Birdkit replied solemly. "There is nobody my age that I can play with."

Birchstar, who had helped Dawnwish and Splashpaw show Birdkit around, then said, "This isn't the whole Clan. You saw Clearpaw, my daughter, sleeping in the apprentice's den. Remember?" Birdkit nodded. But that was only one extra cat.

Birchstar, noticing her still questioned face, said "There are two patrols out of camp right now. 3 are on hunting patrols, 2 are on Mutant Collect."

Birdkit cocked her head. "What's Mutant Collect?"

"It's a patrol where 2 or 3 cats go out near the other Clan territories. They spy on them and figure out if there are any mutants about to be released. Then, we snatch them," he finished. Birdkit thought for a moment. Everything seemed to fit into place, but not as she wanted it to.

"You mean... when Treestar, Moorpelt and Specklefur put me in that hole... They were just trying to get rid of me?"

Birchstar bent his large head. "I'm sorry. But they almost did succeed; you were half-dead when we found you. The whole place reeked like would-be death. Dawnwish nursed you back to heath." He flicked his tail towards his embarrassed medicine cat. Birchstar smiled. "The 3 cats that picked you up were Stonepelt, Snakefang and Fishleap. You didn't meet those 2 yet, so I'll introduce you to them when they get back."

Sure enough, the 3 cat patrol, the hunting patrol, came back. 2 warriors and one apprentice, by the look of it. Birdkit lept up to go meet them, but Dawnwish pushed her back down with her paws. "They will come to you," she murmured.

Soon, the 3 patrol cats noticed Birchstar and Dawnwish sitting next to Birdkit. They rushed over to them.

"So, this is the newcomer, eh?" smiled a light gray tom. "I'm Eggclaw. Pleasure to meet you, small one. Why, what's you name?" "Birdkit." Birdkit replied bravely to the tom. He smiled back. "I see were you got your name," he mumbled as he eyed the wings with envy. Birdkit flashed a questionned look at Dawnwish, but she was nowhere to be seen. The cat named Eggclaw was suddenly pushed aside by a powerful brown tom. "Don't mind him." the sturdy brown huffed. "He doesn't have a power. He is only here because he was born- or hatched, more like it- by an egg. It's ok though, I like him. He's actually very nice." the tom meowed. "Oh, I'm Snakefang, by the way. I have to power of poisonous fangs. I helped bring you here." He smiled kindly.

Birdkit thought of saying something, like "Why did you bring me here? I would have been much happier in WindClan!" but instead she dipped her head. "Thank you," she murmured.

The youngest of the 3 cats charged over, with Splashpaw not far behind. "Hey! It's the newbie!"

_This cat is_ hyper, Birdkit thought as she laughed at the funny cat. She immediately thought that he would be a good friend to have, even though he just called her a newbie.

"I'm Nopaw. What's yours?"

Birdkit gasped. _Nopaw? What a horrible name!_

Nopaw seemed to know what she was thinking. "Hey, it's ok, I have all my paws!" he joked. "I was a loner before I came here. My name was... Benny, I think. Ya, it was. Anyway, my power can take all the breath out of you! One, two, three, go!"

This cat talked really fast. But Birdkit didn't have time to think about that since Nopaw had just turned into a Twoleg. Her breath seemed knocked out of her body.

The Twoleg form of Nopaw had a blue pelt on his legs and a yellow pelt over his chest. On the top if its head was ginger fur. It looked like he was wearing leaves on his back paws!

Twoleg Nopaw started waving his arms and sticking his tongue in and out. It was scaring Birdkit a little bit, but it was entertaining all the same. Then, the giant cat-Twoleg Nopaw crashed into the Ancient Oak. The tree rattled and some leaves fell down.

Eggclaw sighed. "Nopaw, you're going to break something. And how many times did we ask you, no Twolegging in the camp!"

Surprisingly, Nopaw understood him, even though he was a Twoleg. He then turned back into a cat and Birdkit could suddenly breathe again. She then exclaimed, "Cool!"

But Eggclaw had a different idea of cool. "You are going to have to apologize to Birchstar, you know that. It's against the rules." Nopaw hung his head. "Sorry," he muttered.

"Not to me, silly! Birchstar's over there." Birchstar was sitting near the medicine den at the other end of the clearing. Nopaw trotted off and Birdpaw followed him.

"You never caught my name. It's Birdkit," she squeaked. Nopaw smiled but didn't say anything.

"How did you hear Eggclaw asking you to turn back into a cat? You were a Twoleg after all."

Nopaw replied, "I can understand Twolegtalk and catspeak in any form."

They reached Birchstar. "I'm sorry for breaking the rules and crashing into the Ancient Oak." He looked hopefully at Birchstar, but the OddClan leader wasn't listening. His head seemed to be in the clouds.

Then he spoke. "The Mutant Collect patrol should have been back by now. I wonder what's keeping them... And it's ok, Nopaw, just don't do it again."

Nopaw looked pleased at being let off easy. "Go have fun!" Birchstar yowled to them as the two young cats raced away.

* * *

**Later that afternoon**

The Mutant Collect patrol still wasn't back yet. Soon it would be dusk, and Birchstar was already thinking about sending out another patrol to go find them.

"I hope they're ok," whispered Splashpaw.

Splashpaw, Nopaw, Vinepaw, Bigpaw and a slightly groggy Clearpaw were all seated together near the apprentices den (which was some sort of tunnel under a juniper berry bush). Birdkit watched them from a little way off. She had become great friends with Splashpaw and Nopaw, but she thought that the evenings were probably apprentice-apprentice time.

She didn't notice Dawnwish approach until she spoke. "Birdkit," she whispered and Birdkit jumped, her wings alert and poised.

Dawnwish smiled. "Go join them. You deserve to have friends. I don't think that they will mind." Birdkit got onto her paws and just before she turned away, she asked, "Did you come from one of the original Clans? Or were you a loner, like Nopaw?" Dawnwish held her gaze. "Neither."

"I was a kittypet. One day, my owners left their nest to go somewhere else, and they forgot me behind. I then joined one of the Clans, until i figured out my power and ran away. Well, not exactly, but Birchstar can tell you the rest. I want you to hear the story in his opinion."

Birdkit thought. "What Clan did you belong to?"

Dawnwish froze. Pause. "WindClan, just like you. I trained as a warrior at the time; not a medicine cat. And I fell in love..." Her voice trailed on.

Birdkit smiled. Dawnwish had loved somebody. "Who was it? Were they from a different Clan? Did he like you back? Do you still love him?" Words came spilling out of her mouth.

Dawnwish giggled. "He was from WindClan. We trained together. We were best friends for a really long time..." She sighed.

"His warrior name was Cloudclaw. I loved him since the day we became apprentices. On the day of the warrior vigil, he and I sat together, guarding the camp. I told him I loved him, he told me that he loved me too... Then two moons later, Specklepaw became Specklefur and forgot all about me. No I do not love him anymore." She stalked away.

Birdkit sat quietly for a few moments, then went to join the blabbering apprentices. "Can I j-join you?" she shyly asked. The apprentices greeted her like an old friend.

"So, it's Birdkit, right?" Clearpaw sleepily meowed. Birdkit nodded. "Can you fly yet?"

Birdkit did not have time to answer because a faster-than-life cat speeded into the clearing. Birchstar ran out of his den at once.

"Swiftblaze? Where is Fishleap?"

The Swiftblaze cat, all out of breath, replied, "She's coming... She's bringing the other..." "Which other? Swiftblaze, talk!" All the attention was on them now.

Swiftblaze was saved to answer by a she-cat, probably Fishleap, running into camp. She supported a exhausted-looking pregnant she-cat.

"Birchstar... Birchstar... She was from RiverClan... The Clan just kicked her out... Her name's Morningdust... Her kits are coming..."

Birchstar's eyes widened. "Now?"

Fishleap nodded. "Now."

* * *

_**Hey warrior fans!**_

_**Hope you liked this chapter. I want to thank everybody who read, reviewed and liked this story.**_

_**Special thanks to 'Emberclaw' for coming up with the Morningdust character and her kits!**_

_**... did I say to much?**_

_**Reviewers get a... Nopaw plushie? Nah, you can choose :)**_

_**Keep reading and reviewing,  
-75enihsnooM**_


	9. Chapter 9: New Friends

**Chapter 9 (Birdkit's POV)**

All of the cats in the OddClan camp gasped. Birdkit too. She had never seen somebody so skinny (apart from herself), let alone giving birth. What had RiverClan done to her?

Eggclaw rushed over to help Fishleap bring Morningdust to the nursery. Dawnwish and Splashpaw hurried right behind them, bringing strange-smelling herbs along with them. Birdkit tensed with fear as she heard a blood-curling shriek coming from inside the den. Birdkit cuddled closer to Nopaw.

"Why did you think RiverClan kick Morningdust out?" Birdkit whispered, eager to keep a conversation to take their minds off things.

Vinepaw snorted. "Well, she might be a mutant, you can _never_ tell..."

Birdkit shook her head. "No, I meant: What do you think her power is?"

Bigpaw shrugged. "She didn't say, did she?"

Clearpaw spoke up. "Isn't weird that all our name resemble our powers? I mean, Fishleap can breathe underwater like a _fish_, and-"

"Woah! Really?" Clearpaw sighed. "Yes, really. And Lightstep, wow! It's just said in his name!"

Birdkit looked confused. "Lightstep?"

Nopaw nodded. "He's the deputy, and also my mentor. He's by the Wall's Crack, over there." Birdkit turned her head. In one of the cracks in the giant stone wall protecting the side of the camp, she could see a pair of yellow eyes staring back at her. "Why's he in there? What's his ability?"

Vinepaw rolled her eyes. "It is said in his name," she repeated. "He weighs the same amount as a feather, and he can be blown away by the slightest breeze. His nest in in the Wall's Crack because no wind can sweep him away while he sleeps. Sometimes, it's an adventure just to get to the fresh-kill pile." Birdkit looked back at the eyes. She could now see the faint outline of a slender tom cat perched in the stone slit.

"So what you're trying to say is that Morningdust has something to do with the morning?" Bigpaw questionned. "'Cause it might be wrong; I mean, Birchstar cannot be defeated in battle, and Dawnwish can heal, not anything else, you know what I mean?"

No one answered, lost in their own thoughts.

Another blood-curling shriek brought them back to earth. Vinepaw and Clearpaw snuggled closer to Bigpaw (who had his face in his paws), and, despite the rules, Nopaw had turned back into a Twoleg and put his giant pink hands over his minuscule ears.

Birdkit just wailed. She didn't want any of this; to ear the pain of Morningdust, to be a mutant, to having wings. She wanted to be normal.

Then, a nasty voice at the back of her brain said, _A normal cat would never cry if they just heard a little yell._

Birdkit retorted. "But I'm not a normal cat!" she hissed. Clearpaw looked up. "Who are you talking to?"

Birdkit payed no attention. All she did was charge into the nursery, determined to help. But as soon as she stepped her paw into the den, she wish she hadn't.

Splashpaw was holding a soaking moss ball in his mouth, a look of terror on his face. Fishleap looked as though she had fainted in the corner, and Dawnwish was franticly looking for the right herbs, with the same look as Splashpaw.

There was blood everywhere.

Morningdust was sobbing, screaming and fighting for breath at the same time. What looked like 4 kits were wading beside her, clearly alive but drenched in blood. The smell was horrific, but Birdkit stuck to her senses and she ran back out the den. "Help! Emergency!"

Birchstar, Vinepaw, Nopaw (now back in cat form), Eggclaw and Sparkwhisker rushed to their aid.

Their eyes widened as they re-entered the nursery. But quick and a... Swiftblaze, you can say, they started their jobs.

Birchstar grabbed Morningdust and brought her safely to the Medicine den, despite her screaming that her kits needed her. Nopaw (in Twoleg form) and Eggclaw were (in Nopaw's case) scooping the blood out from the nursery or (in Eggclaw's case) absorbing in with moss. Vinepaw had made a little raft were the kits now lay, and Sparkwhisker cuddled close to them to keep them warm.

Birdkit didn't know what to do, so she ran to the Medicine den to see what was happening.

Birchstar and Dawnwish were there. Birchstar silently watched as Dawnwish pressed her nose to Morningdust's faintly rising and falling pelt. A couple moments later, a solemn Dawnwish lifted up her head.

"My magic didn't work. I can only heal wounds, not punctures from the inside. She's in the paws of StarClan now," she replied with regret.

Birdkit lowered her head. Birchstar closed his eyes and Dawnwish put her head in her paws as they silently prayed to StarClan. _Please, I never knew her, but I know that she would be a great mother to the kits that she would leave behind. Please,_ pleaded Birdkit, _let her be ok._

Then, she saw a white twinkle reflecting in Splashpaw's little pool. She looked up.

She gasped and Birchstar and Dawnwish looked up too. There, standing in front of them, were two sparkling cats with blue-whit pelts and green eyes. These were not ordinary cats, but they weren't mutants either.

The one on the left spoke. "You called?"

Birchstar gasped. "StarClan, I haven't seen you since..." "Your nine lives ceremony. We know." spoke the one on the right.

_These cats were StarClan cats?_ Birdkit had never seen something so beautiful yet so frightening.

The one on the left introduced themselves to Birdkit, since she was the only one who seemed to not understand who they were.

"I'm Shimmerpelt, and this is Sparklefur," replied the tom. The she-cat Sparklefur nodded.

They turned towards the dying mother on the floor. "We have come to accept your request." Sparklefur said. Birdkit piped up, "What request?"

Shimmerpelt stepped forward. You three have prayed for the life of this mother. A life is what we shall give you."

Sparklefur stood next to Morningdust and touched noses with the barely breathing she-cat. The breathing stopped. Birdkit felt a wail rise through her throat.

Then, Morningdust gasped and opened her eyes. She was alive, and as well as any other cat.

Birdkit started to purr, and Birchstar let out a 'huff' of relief. Dawnwish's shoulder untensed.

"Thank you so much! OddClan will honour both of you for ever." Sparklefur smiled. "They already do." The two shimmering cats disappeared in thin air, leaving only a couple of sparkles, a small clump of fur and a very shocked Birdkit. "Woah."

Morningdust, who had no idea about what just happened, suddenly shrieked, "What in the name of StarClan is going on?"

Birdkit left Birchstar and Dawnwish to explain as she headed off to the nursery to check on her 4 kits.

Just before entering, something tapped her shoulder. She turned around and stifled a scream.

Shimmerpelt was standing nose to nose with her. Sparklefur was nowhere to be seen. He raised his tail and beckoned Birdkit to follow him.

The StarClan cat led her to a small clearing with a fallen tree in it. It wasn't far from camp at all, but Birdkit was still afraid; she had never been outside of the OddClan camp before (well, since her arrival, anyway). Shimmerpelt stopped and turned around.

"You are a special little kit, Birdkit." "How did you know my name?" "StarClan knows everything."

"And talking about knowing everything, we can sense that darkness is coming. We don't quite know what type of darkness, but it will arrive, trapping every Clan, even OddClan, in total blackness."

Birdkit shivered. "Why are you telling me this? I'm only a kit after all!"

Shimmerpelt looked as though he wanted to say something, but then he closed his mouth.

"There is a prophecy," he murmured. "I shall not tell you yet. You are only a kit after all, like you said. But one day, I'll tell you the rest. Farewell, little one." Without another word, he turned around and disappeared once more.

Birdkit looked shocked for a moment, then shook her head. _Was this cat trying to scare me?_ She decided that she would leave the past behind her and go back to the Clan. She trotted off back toward her new home, her new friends, her new life.

* * *

**Later that evening**

Later that evening, all the cats were silently gathered around the Ancient Oak. The newest member of the Clan was about to choose the names of her kits.

There were 2 toms and 2 she-cats in the litter. One tom was a tan tom, and the other was pale gray. All of the OddClan cats were worried about this kit; he was the weakest of the litter.

One of the she-cats was pale gray too. The other, the oldest of the litter, was a golden and black kit, unlike her ginger mother. Birdkit purred at the thought of having new friends to join her.

Morningdust crouched over her kits, trying to warm up the little pale tom. His breathing had just gotten shallower. The nice, caring licks turned into frantic licking. Morningdust was starting to look worried. Dawnwish rushed over to her and started to help. After a moment, the stopped.

Birdkit bowed her head. She knew that the little kit had gone to join StarClan. That was one less friend she would have.

Morningdust started to wail. Her wail made her kits start to cry. The grieving queen picked up her dead son and separated him from his alive brother and sisters.

Birchstar stepped forward. "I'm sorry. Should we, um, start the naming?" Morningdust nodded.

"This kit," she pointed at the oldest she-cat, "well, in the den, I thought that I saw her glowing in the darkness." Gasps from the cats in the clearing met her words. "She has at least one mutant kit." Nopaw whispered to Birdkit, his eyes bright. "Why wouldn't she?" asked Birdkit. Nopaw was saved from answering by an annoyed hiss from Snakefang.

"I decided to name this kit Brightkit," Morningdust decided. Cats in the crowd beamed as they chanted the kit's new name.

"I'm not sure if these 2 have powers," she went on, "but I've decided to name this one Petalkit," she pointed at the small pale gray she-cat who resembled her lost brother. "because she looks as delicate as a petal."

"This one will be-"

The little tan tom sneezed. A big jet-like flame erupted from his nose and it caused a random branch on the ground to catch on fire. Birdkit leaped back, her eyes wide. So did all the other cats in the clearing.

Splashpaw ran towards the burning branch and quickly put it out with his water power. Birdkit, along with the other OddClan cats, were suddenly able to breathe again.

Birchstar sighed. "Phew! Thanks Splashpaw." The Medicine cat apprentice nodded in gratitude as he got praised by his leader.

Morningdust, eyes wide, then said, "I was _going_ to call him Emberkit, but I'm going to go with something much stronger. I think... Firekit will be good."

The Clan chanted the 3 kits' new names. Then, Birchstar interrupted.

"Morningdust? Are... Are you going to name this one?" He beckoned her dead kit. "I think he would like to have a name... in StarClan."

Morningdust held back a sob. "O-Ok"

She bent over the motionless kit and licked his fur. She thought, then stood up.

"I will name this kit Ripplekit, after his father, back in RiverClan." She started sobbing.

Suddenly, one by one, the 3 little kits opened their eyes and saw all these cats standing over them. They started purring and they nestled closer to their mother. "We love you, mama!" Brightkit exclaimed. "Don't cry!"

Birdkit smiled. _Welcome to the Clan. I hope you like it here, Brightkit, Firekit and Petalkit._

* * *

**Treestar's POV**

He stood on top of the Smallhill, with Boulderpaw and Pinkpaw at his side. The moon shone brightly in the sky, about to accept the 2 new warriors.

The rest of the Clan was sitting at the foot of the Smallhill. Treestar then started his speech.

"I, Treestar, leader of WindClan, look down on these 2 apprentices. They have worked hard to understand the way of your noble, and we ask for warriors in their turn." He turned towards Boulderpaw and Pinkpaw.

"Boulderpaw and Pinkpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend you Clan, even at the cost of your lives?"

"I do!" yowled Boulderpaw.

"I do," echoed Pinkpaw.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Boulderpaw, you shall now be known as Boulderfur StarClan honours you bravery and enthusiasm, and we welcome you as a full warrior of WindClan." Boulderfur licked Treestar's shoulder, then hopped down the Smallhill to join Specklefur.

"Pinkpaw, you will now be known as Pinkheart. StarClan honours you speed and strength, and we welcome you as a full warrior of WindClan." Pinkheart licked Treestar's shoulders before she dove back into the crowd.

The warriors now chanted, "Boulderfur! Pinkheart! Boulderfur! Pinkheart!" But Treestar was thinking of other things.

_Let WindClan thrive with all these new warriors. Let the mutants be destroyed once and for all._

* * *

**_Hello! I'm back!_**

**_Well, it wasn't very long in the first place, but whatever. Hope you liked it!_**

**_Morningdust plushies?_**

**_Read on,  
\- MOONSHINE%&amp;_**


	10. Chapter 10: Fun and Games

_**Hello again!**_

_**Thanks to everybody who reviewed. It makes me so happy :D**_

_**Anyway, a couple of you have asked, 'Where did you get the mutant idea from?' Well, I'll answer that question right now.**_

_**I watch a lot of superhero movies, like Captain America, Thor and Spiderman. I got the mutant idea from, you guessed it, X-Men.**_

_**So, enough talkie-talkie and let's get reading!**_

* * *

**Chapter 10 (Birdkit's POV)**

This was the first night that she spent in the OddClan camp. Finally full-fed, she thought that it would be easier to sleep from now on.

I guess that wasn't true.

She was in the nursery, lying down on a little bed of moss. The faint smell of blood was still present, and Birdkit stopped breathing through her nose. Earlier that day, right after Ripplekit's burial, Birchstar had asked Morningdust if she could be her foster mother. Morningdust, still weak, had replied; "Of course, I'll do whatever I can." This had made Birdkit squeal in delight and it took Vinepaw and Nopaw to calm her down.

Birdkit sighed. She wondered how WindClan was doing. She wondered about the mother and father she never met. _Did I even have siblings?_

She poked her head out of the nursery. The air was chilly. Then, she saw Nopaw quietly come out of the apprentice's den with a grunt.

"Hey Nopaw, where are you going?" Nopaw froze at the sound of her voice. He turned around.

He sighed with relief. "Phew! I thought you were Eggclaw for a second." Birdkit tilted her head. "Why where you going out in the first place?"

Nopaw shrugged. "Dirtplace. I must've shared a bad sparrow with Clearpaw before. Just don't tell Dawnwish," he added quickly.

"Why?" "Because she has a lot to worry about right now. Splashpaw told me-" He buckled up. "Urgh, Excuse me. Gotta go." He rushed out of camp towards the Dirtplace.

Birdkit stood there for a second. _What was that all about? And why would he not want Eggclaw to know?_ She decided not to worry, and she returned to the darkness of the nursery's insides.

* * *

Birdkit was in a sparkling clearing. There were four trees standing around her, making some sort of square shielding her from a dark forest that lay beyond.

She sat down and smelled the air. She could only smell the pure scent of nature; it was amazing, it was beautiful.

Birdkit looked over her shoulder and saw that she didn't have wings. She sighed. She never had them in her dreams. It made her feel free, like a normal cat.

She laid down, and stretched, rubbing her shoulders on the grass. Little glimmering sparkles rose into the air like little wisps.

Birdkit looked up, watching the wisps float up. She gasped as she saw two cats looking up at her with amusement.

"Shimmerpelt! Sparklefur!" she chuckled as she recognized the two cats who had saved her adoptive mother's life. They purred and nodded.

Birdkit looked around. "Is this... StarClan?" The two cats nodded.

"Am I... Send me back!"

Shimmerpelt stepped forward and meowed, "You're in a dream. You already know that." "Oh, right." she mumbled.

"Usually, when I'm in dreams, I'm in the WindClan moor. What am I doing here this time?"

Sparklefur stepped forward too. "Remember the prophecy Shimmerpelt almost gave to you? Well, we thought about it. At a kits' age is the best time to deliver a message. We have sent a message to Dawnwish too." They both leaned closer.

Their eyes grew dark. A sudden cool breeze chilled the air.

_"The ripples returns when the world grows dark,_

_The bird will spread open her wings like a stark,_

_With the help of her friends, she will turn on the light,_

_But only after it is time to fight."_

Birdkit stood still for a moment. She thought that prophecies would be hard to crack open; but this one was easy! _The ripples returns when the world grows dark; _that must mean that water will ripple, signalling that the darkness is here._ The bird will spread open her wings like a stark; _Obviously there is a bird, most likely a stark that will open her wings, possibly for the first time. _With the help of her friends, she will turn on the light;_ the stark's friends will help her turn on the light... How do they do that? Is there some sort of light switch that they could use? _But only after it is time to fight._There is going to be a fight. That part creeped her out a little bit.

She turned back the the StarClan cats. "Why did you want me to know this?" The cats started to fade. "What in the name..?"

"We told you because," Sparklefur whispered

"The bird," the cats had almost disappeared,

"Is you." They disappeared in a puff of sparkles and dewdrops.

Something prodded her side and Birdkit woke up with a start. Brightkit had kicked her in the ribs.

Birdkit sighed, got up and padded into the clearing. nobody was awake yet, even though in was dawn.

She streched and thought, _Those cats are bonkers. I'm no bird, just a mutant cat with wings. What can I do about that?_

She decided that that meeting had never happened, and that it was only a dream

Only a dream.

* * *

**(Dawnwish's POV)**

Her tail twined around Cloudclaw's. They purred together, savouring the cloudless night sky. The stars twinkled above them.

"I bet Stumptail is up there tonight," solemnly meowed Cloudclaw. Dawnwish nodded. "He is, and I bet that he's watching over us."

Cloudclaw smiled and cuddled closer to her. He sighed. "I wonder what it feels like to fly," he whispered.

"One day, we will all have wings, and we shall soar through the clouds; together." Dawnwish whispered back.

They were silent for a few moments. Then, Dawnwish spotted a shooting star. "Quick make a wish!"

When the shooting star flashed away, Dawnwish asked; "Did you wish for your wings?"

Cloudclaw shook his head. "No, that can wait. I wished for you. I love you, Dawnwish," he meowed.

Dawnwish nuzzled him. "I love you too."

Dawnwish woke up with a start. Was that all just a dream? She sighed, and let tears splash on the floor. Birdkit had asked her yesterday if she still had feelings for Cloudclaw. Dawnwish said no, but it was a lie. Dawnwish dreamed about him every night, and there was nothing she could do to stop them.

She got up and headed outside. At once, she saw a little baby bird on the ground. _It probably just only hatched,_ she thought. She carefully picked it up with her paw.

"Hum." she murmured as she inspected it. The bird was small and a creamy-ginger colour, and it tweeted softly.

Dawnwish hobbled out of the OddClan camp. When it was out of sight, she placed the bird kit on the floor and she dove into a nearby bramble bush. She waited for something to happen; maybe a mama bird would come and pick her birdling up.

A couple minutes had passed, and she started to get bored. The bramble thorns were prickling her sides, and the bird just lay there, tweeting away. _I should just finish of its miserable life. It'll be good food for the Clan too, _she thought. She crept out of the bushes.

She stood over the bird, claws in the air. Then she gasped.

A giant cloud-like thing came swooping over the baby bird. The little bird cawed happily as the white thing grabbed it gently and held it in a puffy palm. The two things rose into the air, then disappeared with a puff of sparkles.

The sparkles slowly fell beside her, like falling snow. After a while, it stopped. The ground around Dawnwish now looked like Leafbare had come early.

Then she heard a voice whisper in her ear. _We know you well, Dawnwish._

Dawnwish spun around, but there was nobody there. She rolled her eyes. _Sparklefur._

But wait! If Sparklefur was here, then this would have been a sign from StarClan! Dawnwish gasped. She thought about the 'cloud paw' pick up the bird kit gently, then when they both disappeared, they created sparkling snow which made the grass look like speckled fur. "Oh no..."

It all fell perfectly into place. The cloud claw picked up the bird kit as though it had been his father, then they created speckled fur on the grass below. It was too simple, to easy, to horrifying to think of.

Cloudclaw and Specklefur had kits back at WindClan.

And one of those kits was Birdkit.

She couldn't believe it. All those moons with Cloudclaw and he betrays her love, even after he wished for her on that star that night by the lake shore.

Dawnwish shook her head. _Strange things have been happening since her arrival. I think that there is only one thing to do, no matter how strange and awkward this would be. I haven't seen him in many moons._

She sighed. _I'll ask Birchstar if I can call the... the Expert._

* * *

**(Birdkit's POV)**

Birdkit thought about the dream she had most of the day. She knew that she agreed not to think about it until the time had come, but she longed to learn what it meant.

"Hey Birdkit!"

Birdkit looked up. She saw Nopaw, Splashpaw and the warrior named Icepath coming towards her.

"You look bored. Do you wanna have some fun?" Icepath meowed. "I know that your new denmates aren't old enough, so we figured..."

Birdkit tilted her head. "Where are we going?" Nopaw shuffled his paws. "I don't remember saying anything about going out of camp," retorted Icepath.

She snorted. "I can tell by your faces. Of course I want to come! But... Aren't you a warrior, Icepath? Shouldn't you know better than sneak little kits out of camp?"

Icepath shrugged. "It wan't long ago that I was a kit to, you know. I remember how I always wanted to leave the safeness of the camp. So now, I shall give this opportunity to you!" He sounded prophetic at the last sentence. Splashpaw sniggered. "No, it's also because he is the youngest warrior and barely an apprentice. He still has loyalty to the rule-breaking club."

"Rule breaking club?"

"Yeah. The senior warriors always call the apprentices the rule breakers. Anyway, Let's go!" piped up Nopaw.

They led Birdkit out of camp. On the way, they bumped into Dawnwish, who looked distraught.

"Oh my goodness! So sorry, Dawnwish!" Splashpaw stuttered. Dawnwish waved her tail in dismissal.

"It's alright, it's alright, carry on!" She sounded high-pitched and concentrated on something else. She didn't even look at the patrol, or ask them what they were doing!

"Whew, that was close. C'mon, not a second to lose!" Icepath whispered and trotted off. Birdkit grinned and followed.

Sometime later, they arrived at a clearing. She remembered the fallen tree here and could not help but blurt out, "Snakefang's Tree!"

Splashpaw tilted his head. "How do you know about it? Did you ever come here?"

Birdkit didn't want to say the truth, so she muttered "Dawnwish told me that there are great berries here." Splashpaw noded, obviously agreeing with his mentor.

She thought for a moment. "What are we going to do anyway?" Nopaw snickered. "You'll see," he whispered.

Splashpaw ran across the clearing, sending water everywhere. Birdkit gasped when he was done; the clearing was no longer a clearing: it was some sort of pool.

Water lapped at her legs, soaking parts of her belly along with her paws. "Ehhh... I don't want to go for a swim!" she groaned. Splashpaw laughed and picked her up by the scruff. "Hey!"

He placed her in a tree. She saw that Nopaw and Splashpaw had done the same. Only Icepath remained in the water, unmoving. "Watch this!" he yowled. "Three, two, one, go!"

He lightly tapped the water with his nose. Birdkit gasped as coldness ran through the water ripples, making it a lighter shade of blue. Icepath felt it with his paw. It had turned to ice. "It's ok, you can come down now!"

Nopaw and Splashpaw jumped down with no hesitation. They landed on the iced clearing with a thud. They slid around, laughing. _It looks like fun,_ she thought.

"C'mon, Birdkit! Don't be afraid! It's really fun! We call this... Ice Sliding!"

Birdkit looked down from the tree she was in. She wanted to try 'Ice Sliding', but was it dangerous? Her wings pressed tightly to her sides, she sprang from the tree. She landed on the ice smoothly.

The frozen water felt cold beneath her pads. She tried to walk, but she slipped and slid towards the end of the clearing. She came to a mighty stop when she crashed into the tree.

It didn't really hurt, and she joined in to the laughing.

They 'Ice Slid' all afternoon; from sunhigh till dusk. As the sun went down, Birdkit realized how tired she was. Her pads were sore and cold, and she was exhausted from all that sliding. Soon, even Icepath was tired and they decided to head home.

Icepath picked Birdkit up since she was too tired to walk on her own. They turned to leave when they heard a voice call out to them.

"You guys aren't going to leave that ice around in the clearing, are you?"

The four cats froze. They turned around and looked up. Sparkwhisker, Icepath's brother, was perched in a tree. He lept down.

"So? Are you...?" Icepath's brother asked. Icepath just bowed his head.

"We never thought of that," mumbled Nopaw.

Sparkwhisker frowned, then smiled a light, cheerful, joking smile. "That looked really fun out there! I'll help you clear out the ice if you guys promise me that you'll take me with you next time." They purred.

"Sure! Now help us, please," Splashpaw begged, still purring. With a flick of his tail, Sparkwhisker touched the ice with his nose, just like Icepath had done, but instead the ice began to melt away.

"There you go. Now come on, the Clan will be looking for you. Especially Birdkit. What were you thinking, bringing her out of camp? You know that we are not allowed!" Sparkwhisker bugged his brother. Icepath ignored him until they got to camp.

Nopaw picked up Birdkit and half dragged, half carried her to the nursery. Morningdust was not in there, but her three sleeping kits were. Petalkit, slightly glowing Brightkit and Firekit were all snuggled up to each other, dreaming of wonderful dreams. Birdkit snuggled up to her future friends.

Moments later, before falling asleep, Dawnwish crept into the nursery, muttering to herself.

"I'm happy that Birchstar said yes, I do sometimes wonder how Xeno's doing..." _What, and who, was she talking about? Who is Xeno? _ wondered Birdkit, pretending to be asleep.

To her surprise, Dawnwish came up forward and licked to top of Birdkit's head. "You may not love me anymore, Cloud of Wind, but I will always love you, and I will take care of the kit you abandoned until my last breath."

_What was she talking about? _was all Birdkit could think of until she fell asleep. The next morning, she could barely remember a thing.

* * *

_**Not to exciting, huh?**_

_**Well, it's pretty important for future chapters.**_

_**Hum... I wonder who Xeno is... *sigh...***_

_**Reviewers get a... Icepath plushie. Yeah, that's good!**_

**'May misfortune follow you the rest of your life, but never catch up' _is what I like to say. Of course, being Irish..._**

**_Yolo,  
-Random Irish Person (nah, just kidding.)_ :D**


	11. Chapter 11: Xeno

_**Hey folks! (hyuk hyuk) I'm back!**_

_**I'm sorry I was gone for a while. I was on vacation :)**_

_**Most of this chapter is in Dawnwish's POV. Just sayin'!**_

_**Here is Chapter 11. Hope y'all enjoy!**_

* * *

**(Birdkit's POV)**

"Let all cats old enough to control their own powers join here for a Clan meeting!"

Birdkit woke up to the sound of Birchstar's voice calling from the Ancient Oak. Her denmates woke up and started to wail. Morningdust, who must've squeezed through while Birdkit was sleeping, licked the top of their heads before stretching and walking outside. Birdkit scampered off after her.

The other cats were just waking up. They trotted to the foot of the Ancient Oak, and they sat down, waiting for their leader to speak. _I want to be up there one day,_ she decided. _I'll be Birdstar, leader of OddClan!_

Birchstar spoke once everybody was seated. "There is a lot to discuss today. First off, I have decided to welcome Morningdust as the only queen of OddClan. She had requested to stay a queen, since she stated that her days of fighting were over, but she does not wish to retire yet and she will fight when the time comes."

The cats in the crowd cheered. "Morningdust! Morningdust!" Birdkit purred as Morningdust blushed.

"Second," Birchstar continued as the cheering calmed down, "I want to make a new warrior." Gasps from the crowd rose. Who was it? Bigpaw? Vinepaw?

"Clearpaw," the leader spoke. "She had trained hard. I want to make my daughter a full member of OddClan." Cats in the camp nodded. Clearpaw was very popular.

Birchstar beckoned a nervous, surprised-looking Clearpaw to sit beside him. "Your mother would have been proud," he murmured. Clearpaw just gazed solemnly.

"For the warrior ceremony, I have decided to change it up a little bit. We are not from the four original Clans, so we can change whatever we want." Silence met his words. "In OddClan, we do not only learn how to hunt and fight, but we learn how to control our powers too. For instance," he named a list. "Sparkwhisker! You would set anything you touched on fire before you came here! Icepath! You would freeze everything... pretty much the opposite of your brother." The siblings made faces and the Clan laughed as Birchstar went on. "Lightstep, you would always fly away in the gentlest breeze! Of course we still have to work on that, but you are getting better!" He purred. The deputy blushed and looked away, hiding a smile.

"So, for the new rule, you shall demonstrate your powers in front of the Clan so that we know that you can control them."

Birdkit's heart fell. What can she do with wings? Sure, they were meant for flying and all, but she was probably too heavy to stay in the air anyways. She shook her head. _Don't worry about this now! Wait until it's your turn to be up there..._ For now, she would let Clearpaw be the one to panic.

But Clearpaw wasn't panicking. She stood calm and tall on the Ancient Oak's lower branch.

Then she disapearred, just out of thin air. Birdkit gasped, but she was the only one who did. Birdkit was the only one who had never seen Clearpaw show her power before, except Morningdust and her kits, of course.

Clearpaw came into view on the other side of the camp. The OddClan cats cheered, Birdkit along with them.

Clearpaw turned invisible a few more times before Birchstar flicked his tail in order to stop. The cats in the clearing stopped cheering and fell very silent.

Birchstar spoke. "Impressive. Now, Icepath..." He turned towards his daughter's mentor. The warrior blinked and the grass around him became crispy with frost. "Yes?"

"How is my daughter doing in training?" "Well, she definitely hunts and fights well," her mentor replied. "The enemy and prey can never see her coming!" Birdkit saw Snakefang and Swiftblaze smile. They must've had experience with that.

Birchstar nodded. "Clearpaw, come forward."

Birdkit's friend trembled with excitement as she leaped on the branch next to her father. Birchstar yowled into the sky.

"Clearpaw has reached her twelfth moon. And I, Birchstar, leader of OddClan, look down on this apprentice. She has worked hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and we ask for a warrior in her turn." He turned towards Clearpaw. "Do you, Clearpaw, promise to uphold the warrior code and defend you Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Clearpaw took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I do," she replied calmly.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Clearpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Clearmist. StarClan honours your bravery and tracking skills, and we welcome you as a full warrior of OddClan." He rested his nose on Clearmist's shoulder, and she licked his shoulder in gratitude.

"Clearmist! Clearmist!" The Clan chanted the new warrior's name. Clearmist leaped off the Ancient Oak, beaming with delight.

"Congratulations!" Vinepaw greeted her former denmate. "Yeah, good job!" Birdkit piped up. Clearmist just sat there and purred.

Birchstar raised his tail for silence. The cheering slowly died down. Then he spoke.

"Yesterday, Dawnwish asked me if she could go do something near the Twolegplace." Murmurs rippled through the crowd of seated cats.

"I won't go into detail, but she said that it was important." He beckoned to Dawnwish, who was nodding. "I would like at least two other cats to join her on this... quest."

Birdkit jumped up at once. "Me! Me! Me! Me! Me! Pick me!" The cats in the clearing laughed. Birdkit flattened her ears in embarrassment.

Birchstar purred. "If you were a warrior, I would let you go. But I still respect that enthusiasm," he replied. He turned towards the crowd. "I want at least one hunter and one fighter in this patrol."

"I could go," the new warrior Clearmist spoke up. But Birchstar shook his head. "You must stay here. You have a vigil tonight." Clearmist nodded in understanding.

"I'll go," replied Stonepelt and Swiftblaze at the same time. They giggled.

Birchstar nodded. "I like that. Is this good enough for you, Dawnwish?" The medicine cat eagerly nodded her head. "Great," rumbled Birchstar. You may leave whenever you want to."

Moments later, the three cats disappeared through the vine tunnel that guarded the camp, leaving Birdkit wondering where they were going, and when they were coming back.

* * *

**(Dawnwish's POV)**

The three cats padded out of the camp. There was a strong breeze in the air, making Stonepelt's long grey fur swish majestically in the breeze.

"Not friendly weather for Lightstep, isn't it?" Swiftblaze joked. Stonepelt and Dawnwish laughed.

A couple minutes later, the three cats reached the edge of the forest. They looked out on the open moor.

"The WindClan camp is near. We have to stay downwind, or else the cats will smell us. They might not reconize me, but they'll recognize you two," Stonepelt pointed out. Dawnwish nodded and she spotted a patch of mud barely a length away.

"This will disguise our scent!" she meowed as she dived into the marshy puddle. The other two followed her and rolled in it unenthusiastically. Then, brown and smelly, they trekked on.

They crossed through WindClan territory with ease. There were no patrols out. By the time they got to the edge of the territory, it was sunhigh.

Dawnwish's stomach growled. She hadn't eaten anything all day. They stopped and took a little rest.

Swiftblaze caught two mice and a squirrel in a flash. Dawnwish devoured a mouse as the toms shared the others. Without another word, they moved on.

They walked and walked until it was dusk. Dawnwish wanted to keep going, but Stonepelt got a long thorn stuck in his paw and they stopped for the night.

She pulled the thorn out with ease. "Rub this on it, and then eat this if it still hurts," she said as she handed him some marigold.

"Can't you do your medicine cat powers to fix my paw or something?"

Dawnwish shook her head. "I don't use my healing powers unless there is a grave emergency," she replied

Stonepelt nodded in understanding, and he thanked her as he drifted off to sleep.

On the other hand, Swiftblaze didn't seem tired at all. "What are we doing here anyway? Why did you need to go on this trip?"

Dawnwish closed her eyes, took a deep breath and started to explain.

"I have a brother. His name is Xeno, and he is a mutant like us. When we were kittypets, our Twoleg nests were right next to each other. We were best friends."

"What happened?"

"Well, my Twoleg died and I had to find a new home. I went to WindClan," she finished.

"What was Xeno's power?"

Dawnwish smiled. "You'll see," she replied.

"Why do we need to see him?"

Dawnwish did not reply.

Swiftblaze opened his mouth again, but closed it. He turned around and fell asleep.

Dawnwish lay down on the little bed of moss she had made under a tree, thinking about what she had seen the day before. _Birdkit is Cloudclaw's kit... Why did they tell me this? Is it important in some way that I don't understand?_

_Cloudclaw..._

She thought about Cloudclaw's handsome white face as she drifted to sleep.

* * *

She felt something prod her side and Dawnwish woke up with a gasp.

Stonepelt was standing over her. "It's almost dawn, we should go now."

Dawnwish nodded and Stonepelt went to wake up a snoring Swiftblaze. She stretched each limb and joined the two toms near a boulder.

"Let's hunt. We have to keep our strength up if we want to arrive at my brother's nest before sunhigh. I think I know where we are," Dawnwish said.

The trio hunted. Swiftblaze caught a squirrel, Stonepelt stalked a crow and Dawnwish had trapped a water vole. They ate in total silence.

When they were done eating, they could see the sun poking out from behind the trees. Without another word, they trekked on.

They walked for an hour or so until they came across a Thunderpath. As soon as they saw it, the two toms gave an uncomfortable mew. Dawnwish, on the other hand, squeaked with delight. "Look! I can see my old house-uhh... I mean _nest_ from here!"

The travelling cats looked beyond the Thunderpath. What they saw was a beautiful, calm suburb with Twoleg nests lined up in rows.

"They look; that is where Xeno lives! Wow, nothing really changed when I was gone..." she murmured to herself. She straightened up and addressed the toms. "We will now cross the Thunderpath. We shall walk towards that burgundy nest with the wilting tulips at the front, ok?"

The toms nodded, eyes wide. They clearly did not want to cross the Thunderpath.

"Who wants to go first?"

The toms looked at each other, terrified. Dawnwish let out a snort of impatience.

"You guys volunteered for this job! You should have known that this would happen at one point! Stop being such scaredy-mice! And Swiftblaze, what do you need to worry about? You are the fastest thing alive!" Dawnwish retorted. She sniffed. "I'll go first."

She walked up to the Thunderpath. The weird, brown-grey stone was warm underneath her pads. It vibrated slightly as a terrifying monster whizzed past her, choking her with its smoke. When it was gone, she took a deep breath and strode onto the monster's path.

All of a sudden, a monster veered towards her. There was nowhere she could run, nowhere she could hide. I was coming for her at full speed. The toms on the other side yelled for her to move, but she was unable to move. Deep down, she knew this was the end. She closed her eyes.

A brutal force knocked her to the side and knocked her out of breath. She landed on the side of the path were the toms were. She gasped and her sides throbbed with agony to were she was hit. She felt the toms rush over to her. "Dawnwish! Are you ok? You should have moved! You would have died if this orange cat hadn't moved you out of the way! Do you think he is your brother?"

Dawnwish sniffed the air, eyes still closed. The scent was familiar, but it wasn't her brother.

A third voice came into earshot. "Did you just call me a dude, punk?"

Dawnwish purred. She knew who this was! She opened her eyes and saw her old best kittypet friend standing over her.

"Tammy! It's been a while!" She sat up with a wince. "You push really hard, you know," she meowed as she rubbed her ribs.

Tammy shrugged. "I would rather my friend have a broken rib than death. Anyway, welcome back." Pause. Then-

"Where did you go? Who are these toms? Why did you leave without telling me? And why did you come back?" Tammy started to shout all these questions at her.

Dawnwish flattened her ears. "You are loud, you know that, right? Anyway, we'll explain everything as we go." The now four-cat group made their way across the Thunderpath as Dawnwish explained everything to her old friend.

When she was done, Tammy sighed. "Well, that explains a lot. So you are in a Clan full of cats with powers just like us. Do you... Do you think that they'll take me in?"

Switfblaze, who was in back of the line listening to their conversation, spoke up. "Woah whoa whoa, you have powers too? What is it?"

Tammy sighed. "I can speak to cats through my mind. You know, telekinesis and stuff..." "Cool," muttered Stonepelt.

Dawnwish went back to their conversation. "I'm pretty sure that Birchstar would take you into the Clan, but what about your Twolegs?"

Tammy sighed. "Yeah, I guess that i can't leave them. Anyway, there are a couple of questions that I didn't get answers to. Who are these toms? And why are you here?"

Dawnwish giggled. Tammy liked to start up at conclusions! "This dumb tom is Swiftblaze, and this grey idiot is Stonepelt." "Hey!" the toms shouted as Dawnwish and Tammy howled with laughter.

Wiping up her tears, Tammy asked, "What's with the names? Angel, do all Clan cats have weird names too?"

Dawnwish sighed. Tammy used the kittypet name that she had been trying to forget for so long. _Angel, eww_, she thought.

She nodded in response as the toms held back their laughter. "Ane-gell? What type of name is that?" they giggled.

The she-cats took no notice. "Yes, Tammy, they do. And I'm Dawnwish now, not Angel. WOULD YOU SHUT UP, YOU FILTHY TOMS?!" she yowled at the end. The toms stopped sniggering at once.

Tammy smiled. "Dawnwish... Wow, you have changed. It's a nice name, though! Why did you bring Rockfart and Fastman with you though? Anyway, we have arrived. Why did you want to come to Xeno's old home?"

Dawnwish, who was giggling before, sputtered. _Old_ home? "What do you mean by 'old home'? Is he... gone?" she choked.

Tammy shrugged. "More or less. He isn't dead, if that's what you mean. His Twolegs just moved away somewhere very far."

Dawnwish bit back tears. What the heck? Her journey was made for nothing... She would never see him again... She never even said goodbye...

Tammy noticed her shock and purred. "Luckily for you, his Twolegs forgot to bring him. He now lives in the Old Red Barn down the road. Do you remember my sister, Secret? The one who loved Xeno for the longest time ever?" Dawnwish nodded, not believing her ears. "Well, they had kittens! They're also making a refugee camp for outcasted mutants, just like your OddClan!"

Dawnwish, Stonepelt and Swifblaze gasped. "Really?"

Tammy nodded with the playfulness of a kit. "You should really see their kittens! Hey! You know what? Let's go see them!"

Dawnwish nodded once more. "Yes please!" Her eyes were filled with happiness tears.

And together, the four cats walked off towards the Old Red Barn, the sunhigh-sun shining brightly above them.

* * *

A few minutes later, the four cats reached the Old Red Barn. The doors were closed, but Dawnwish could hear excited squeals coming from the inside. She was going to see her brother!

Tammy stepped forward and whispered. "Let's surprise him! Angel- Uhh... I mean Dawny, hide behind that rock under the barn door latch. Quickdude, since your power is fastness, go somewhere further."

Swiftblaze turned his questioning head. "How did you know that I can-" "Shush! They'll hear you! And I can read minds. I can tell that last night, you dreamt that you were playing with a pretty blue-grey she-cat. Something tells me that her name was Fish... Fishleap?"

Swiftblaze, burning with embarrassment, whispered, "Ok, ok, that's enough! I'll go now..." And he ran off in a heartbeat. "We'll call you when we're ready!" Tammy yowled. Then she slapped her tail over her mouth, hoping that no cat in the barn heard. Dawnwish stifled another giggle.

Tammy turned to Stonepelt. "Rockfart-" "It's Stonepelt. If you call me 'Rockfart' one more time I'll-" "Ok, ok, Stonepelt. Go next to Dawny's boulder and do your stuff." Stonepelt nodded.

He went up to the boulder and lay down next to it. He curled into the tightest ball he could. Soon enough, Dawnwish saw his pelt harden into glistening stone. Stonepelt looked just like a stone! "Ready!" whispered Stonepelt.

Tammy nodded to Dawnwish. Dawnwish ducked behind the boulder she was assigned to. Then she peeked out from behind the rock and waited.

Tammy was facing the door. She then unsheathed her claws. _Tap... ta-tap tap tap... tap..._

A moment later, the barn door creaked and opened a little bit. A black and white she-cat stepped out of the crack. _Secret!_

_"_Hey Tammy! How did your powercat search go? Did ya find anything cool?" the amber-eyed cat meowed.

Tammy smiled. "Yes, I found something beyond cool. But it's for Xeno-" "Hey, I'm his mate! I should know what's going on too!" Tammy looked over to Dawnwish. Dawnwish nodded ever so slightly. Secret had the right to know, but not see. Dawnwish wanted Xeno to know first.

Tammy returned to her sister and whispered in her ear. Secret squealed with delight. "Angel's here? Yay! Can I-" "Not now, just go get Xeno! Don't tell him though. And don't look too excited!" Tammy said and Secret bounced back into the big barn.

A few heartbeats later, Secret returned with a cream and ginger tom behind her. The cat had handsome face features, and Dawnwish had to fight the urge of jumping out from behind the boulder yowling _Brother! It's been so long!_

Secret went back into the safety of the barn, back to the mewls of kits and playful yowls of apprentice-aged cats.

Xeno looked around and sighed. "What is it now, Tammy? For the past week you have been pranking me and saying that you found another hedgehog that can turn into a cat and that you saw a banana walking down the road. This better be good."

Dawnwish was suddenly transported back to the time when she was a kittypet. _Banana... Road..._ Those words were long forgotten to her. She snapped out of her thoughts just as Tammy spoke.

"Well, this time I found something real. I hope you like it..." Tammy purred.

Dawnwish knew that it was this moment that she could come out of the shadows. She stood up and took a couple steps forward,

Xeno turned his head in confusion. Dawnwish was not able to move. "Brother..." she murmured.

Xeno's eyes turned to slits. Dawnwish thought that he was going to attack her. She braced herself.

Then, Xeno's eyes widened. He padded up to her until they were nose to nose. "Angel, is that you?"

Dawnwish never purred so loudly in her life. "Xeno! I missed you!" Tears were coming to the eyes of both cats.

They were soon yowling in pleasure, rolling on the ground like kits, playfighting. They purred and squealed; something they hadn't did for so long.

When they were done, Xeno huffed, "I missed you so much! Why did you go? _Where_ did you go?" Dawnwish explained everything for a second time. When she was finished, Xeno was speechless.

"So your name is Dawnwish now, huh? That's nice. And you live in a Clan too! Wow! In our little group of mutants, we have saved a couple of Clan kittens from death. We know quite a lot of them too! Yet I don't remember OddClan being in the main four... Anyway, come see!"

Dawnwish was about to say that OddClan wasn't in the main four, but she followed her brother into the barn. What she next saw was an amazing sight.

There was hay on the floor everywhere, but that wasn't all. there were about ten cats in this huge barn.

There was Secret and Tammy talking in a corner. A one-eyed cat was watching three kits play together in a little dip in the hay. Then, a strand of straw landed of the top of Dawnwish's head. She looked up and saw another little kit that was _flying_, without wings! The kit had clumps of hay in her claw and she was dropping on the heads of the cats below.

There was also two other cats sleeping in the hay. From what Dawnwish saw, one of the cat's fur was the odd colour of purple, and the other looked perfectly normal. They both looked the age of senior warriors or elders.

Xeno, next to her, smiled. "Welcome to the Outcast's Club."

He turned towards the commotion of cats and yowled, "Outcasters, assemble!"

Immediately, the cats in the barn, every single one of them (even the sleepy cats and the kits) made a circle around Xeno and Dawnwish. The cats had confused looks on their faces because they had no idea who she was.

Xeno started to speak. "This is Dawnwish. She is a Clan cat." Murmurs of dislike ran through the crowd. They obviously did not like the Clan cats, after what they did to them. He continued. "But she is also my sister. She is not here to hurt us, I am sure." The cats around them relaxed.

"I shall give her the tour. We shall demonstrate our powers to her, to show that we are strong!" "Yeah!" yowled the cats. Then they broke up into groups and the kits when back to playing.

They started the tour and Dawnwish totally forgot about Stonepelt and Swiftblaze.

"This is Lilac," Xeno mewed as he beckoned to the purple cat. Lilac snorted. "I guess you can see why I'm different," she meowed grumpily.

"What's your story?" Dawnwish asked. The grumpy elder snorted again.

"I lived in RiverClan. My name when I was a kit was Lilykit. One day, I started noticing that my grey fur was turning lighter, and lighter, and pinker, and pinker. Then one day, my fur looked like a very light shade of red. Not like this though," she pointed to her purple fur. "Anyways, My mother was the leader. Her name was Brightstar. One day, I hid in a bush and cried. My fur was changing into a weird colour, and I was scared. I waited in that bush until my mother walked by."

The elder huffed for breath. "My mother saw me. She wasn't angry, or mad, or evil, thank StarClan. She wanted to help, so she rolled me in mud. My fur was now brown. I did that every day. And when I became an apprentice, I stopped. My fur was stained with brown, and I was safe. Then I became a warrior, under the name of Lilyfur. A denmate smelled some of the mud, and I was forced to wash my fur more thoroughly. I came back to camp, and my fur was purple. My mother had no choice but to cast me out." Lilac sighed. "I became a loner, under a different name. Now let me sleep. I'm tired." The old cat grumbled.

Xeno and Dawnwish thanked her as they moved on. Dawnwish wanted to ask him a question, but not around the other cats. She decided to act like she was enjoying herself as her brother gave her the rest of the tour.

Xeno brought her to another cat. "This is Hay. His old name was Haykit and he was from the Clan ofLightning or something..." Dawnwish gasped. "I heard of you! You grow extremely fast! You are only like, three moons old or something! ThunderClan... Didn't they kill you?" Hay shrugged. "They tried. But Tammy found me, bleeding to death in the undergrowth." He sighed. "I'm going to die anyway. I'm _four_ moons old and I look like a senior warrior. By the time I'm five moons I'll die of 'old age'." He turned around and stalked away.

"Poor him." Xeno whispered. "It isn't his fault that he's like this. Let's continue." Dawnwish nodded.

Xeno brought him to the one-eyed cat who was watching the kits. "This is Cyclop. Not only does he have one eye, he can see things that not everybody can see."

Cyclop looked at them, his one eye blinking. "I can tell that that you forgot two friends outside, Wishdawn." Dawnwish nodded with embarrasment. "Oops. I'll go get them."

She ran to the door of the barn, almost tripping a kit with a snake tail. She opened the door and saw her two travelling companions waiting for her. "That took a while," grumbled a grumpy looking Stonepelt. "Sorry guys. Come in."

As soon a they walked in, the five kits zoomed over to the toms. "Hi! My name's Liz!" "Heyo!" "You're soooo big!" "Do you have a power?" "You smell weird!"

Xeno rushed over. "Woah, whoa, guys, calm down!" He looked at Stonepelt and Swiftblaze with a look of embarrassment. "Well, uh... These are my kits!"

He introduced them to the three traveling Clan cats. "This is Liz. Say hi!" Liz, the kit with the snake tail, bounced over. "Hi! Wanna know what my power is?" They shrugged. "Sure." "Cool! Daddy, get the knife!"

_Knife. _Dawnwish remembered what that was! She flinched with fright and she saw Xeno come back with a long, sharp shiny thing between his jaws.

He dangled the knife over his kit's tail, and then dropped it. The tail was sliced off. Dawnwish and the toms screamed.

Then, a new tail started to grow back where the old one had been. "It doesn't even hurt!" Liz said and the tiny she-cat was whisked away by her angry mother. "Xeno, please don't do that again." Secret walked away, Liz in her jaws.

Xeno rolled his eyes and beckoned to another kit; a white kit with blue eyes. Dawnwish recognized her as the flying kit who dropped straw on her head during the first tour.

"This is Wind. She can fly-" "I sure can! I can also breathe things that _you _can't!" Xeno rolled his eyes again. "Yes, yes you can." Then, as a demonstration, he picked up to pieces of hay and rubbed them together. Smoke rose from the strands. Wind stuck her face in the murky fog and breathed in. "Hmmmm..."

Secret sighed. "Xeno, stop trying to kill our kits! Mind you, one of these days..." she sighed.

Wind flew up into the air. "Weee!" "Come down, Wind! Let me tell you a story of my times in the Clans..." Lilac called out. "Yippee!"

Xeno huffed. "Thanks Lilac! Anyway," he sighed. "She thinks that I'm her father. Truth is, we found her, and Nighty too." He beckoned towards another one of the kits. Nighty was a black she-kit with amber eyes. She was looking at her real sister zoom around the barn, eyes wide.

"Her mother, supposedly named Shadowflight, was killed for giving birth to two mutants kits. We were unable to save her, but her kits live on." He turned towards Nighty. "This is Nighty, formerly Darkkit," he whispered. Then he yowled, "Nighty! Power time!"

Nighty ran over to Xeno. "Thanks Dad!" She looked around. Her eyes landed on a shady spot near Lilac and Hay. She ran towards it. Suddenly, she disappeared.

Dawnwish's eyes widened. "Did she just... disappear?" Xeno laughed. "In shadows, she is invisible. Pretty cool, huh?" Dawnwish nodded.

Then, she heard a squeal and turned her head to see the two remaining kits fighting over something. "I get to eat the _whole_ mouse!" "No, I caught it! I should eat it!" "You didn't catch it! Cyclop did!" They bickered until Xeno and Secret split them up.

"Guys, guys, shush! I was going to let you share but now, bring it to Lilac!" The bigger kit grumbled something rude and hopped away.

Xeno shrugged. "That was Penny. Her eyes change colour depending on her mood." Dawnwish looked at Penny from a distance and saw that her eyes slowly changed from green to red.

Xeno pointed to the last kit. "Leaf," he said. Leaf looked up to Dawnwish with a look of interest. Dawnwish immediately knew that this kit would make a great medicine cat apprentice. Her gentle paws, her careful gaze...

"... she can float on water, too!" finished Xeno. It snapped Dawnwish out of her thoughts. "Hey, she's like Lightstep!" Swiftblaze meowed.

"Whoever that is..." murmured Xeno. "Anyway, it's almost dark. Would you guys like to sleep here for tonight?"

Dawnwish, who had not noticed the barn grow darker, nodded. Stonepelt and Swiftblaze sighed. "Were is the moss?" Stonepelt asked.

Xeno shook his head. "No moss, only straw. It's more comfortable than you think," he replied. The Clan toms still grumbled.

They settled for the night. The toms had made friendships with Hay and Cyclop, and they were chatting about their short times in the main Clans. On the other hand, Xeno and Dawnwish settled for a peaceful barn night.

A couple minutes of silence passed. Then Xeno lifted his head up.

"I forgot to ask. Why are you here in the first place? Judging your word, OddClan is a very nice place..."

Dawnwish sighed, then began to explain.

"I need your help..."

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**_Hope ya liked it! It was the longest chapter I ever wrote. Woohooooooo!_**

**_Xeno plushies for everyone!_**

**_Ps.: For those who gave me some OCs, I am using them under a different name (for now)._**

**_Thanks again for reading (and reviewing)! It means a lot to me!  
\- Mooniness_**


	12. Chapter 12: Goodbyes

**I'm back (once more)!**

**Enjoy chapter 12. Some things will get cleared up :)**

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**(Birdkit's POV)**

The sky was growing dark. All the OddClan warriors had gone to their nests for the night, But Birdkit lay in the centre of the clearing, wide awake. Nothing made sense these days.

The way Dawnwish had looked at her as though she had a secret that she would not tell, Shimmerpelt's weird words to her and even Nopaw's sneaking out at night excursions.

Nopaw had been sneaking out of camp almost every night now. It also seemed as though Birdkit was the only one who noticed. Everytime she asked him what he was doing, he just said, "Dirtplace." But a few minutes after, she would go check the Dirtplace and see that he wasn't there.

Birdkit shuffled her paws. It was usually at this time that Nopaw would sneak out of the apprentice's den and through the Dirtplace. Sure enough, she saw Nopaw creeping out of his nest, looking side to side to make sure that there was no one there.

Birdkit padded over to him. "Boo," she meowed. Nopaw gave a shriek and turned around. His body relaxed as he looked at Birdkit.

"Birdkit! You gave me a scare!" he huffed. "You should really go back to-"

"What do you do every night, sneaking out of camp?"

Nopaw looked taken aback. "Dirtplace," he mewed. "I think Twolegs have bladder problems." He turned around and stalked away before Birdkit could say anything.

Birdkit walked back to the nursery, defeated. She must've been so tense, like the rest of the Clan. Dawnwish, Stonepelt and Swiftblaze had not returned yet, and it had been a little more than a week. Birdkit hoped that they were alright.

Birdkit lifted her head up and silently yowled, _Oh, mother and father that I do not know, please let everything be alright._

And back at WindClan, Specklefur did the same thing.

_Oh, Birdkit, if you are in StarClan, please forgive me. I never wanted this to happen to you; I only played along. Please let everything be alright._

_Why did Cloudclaw fall for me? He should have ran off with the other one..._

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**(Dawnwish's POV)**

Dawnwish was curled up in a little hay bed next to her brother. The first rays of sun were starting to shine through the walls of the barn, and the kits started to mewl for their mother. Secret and Tammy still lived in Twoleg nests, but the kits stayed in the barn overnight.

It had been around a week since her, Stonepelt and Swiftblaze left the camp. She knew that back in OddClan they would be worried that they would not be back, but she also knew that Stonepelt and Swiftblaze were strong and that the Clan wouldn't panic since she was with them.

The reason that they had stayed at the barn was because Xeno had asked them to. When Dawnwish told him about her offer, he said that he would think about it. His kits needed him, and so did his little Outcast Club; he was their leader. But Dawnwish needed him too, and since she was his sister, the choice would be hard.

Stonepelt was waking. He yawned and stretched uncomfortably, plucking straw from his grey pelt, then padded towards Dawnwish who was pretending to be asleep.

The grey warrior leaned close to her a whispered, "Dawnwish? Are you awake?"

Dawnwish blinked open her eyes. "Yup," she sighed. "What do you want?"

Stonepelt held her steady gaze before turning away to wake Swiftblaze. She sighed again as she got up. The fact that Swiftblaze and Stonepelt hated this place was no secret.

Stonepelt returned to where Dawnwish was seated with Swiftblaze at his heels. "Let's go outside," muttered Stonepelt.

Once through the barn doors, Stonepelt started to speak.

"Swiftblaze and I have had enough. We want to go back; we're not staying another day." Swiftblaze nodded in agreement.

Dawnwish sighed. "I thought you'd say that. But I gave Xeno a week to think about it..."

Swiftblaze spoke up. "Brother or no brother, accept or decline, we are leaving at sunhigh." He looked up at the sky, which shone with a beautiful dawn light. "You have all morning to say goodbye." He turned around and stalked back into the barn.

Stonepelt paused, then replied, "I agree. We leave at sunhigh." Pause then-

"Unless you want to stay here with them."

Dawnwish gasped. How dare they! Sure, the barn was nice and the prey here was plentiful, but she longed for the forests, for wounded cats who needed treatment and for the one connection to her old WindClan life; Birdkit. She wanted to feel the wind in her fur and get tangled in the undergrowth. She wanted to help give birth to queens and comfort kit! she would rather get bitten by Snakefang then going the band of outcasts.

But her brother...

If she stayed, she would be with her only _real_ family and cats who understood her. She would not be a medicine cat anymore, and she could have kits...

She shook her head. "I'll be ready at sunhigh," she meowed to Stonepelt. But when she looked up, she saw that nobody was there. She scampered back inside the Old Red Barn, only to crash into Xeno as soon as she stepped foot in there.

"Woah, Duskwish! Slow down! I've been looking for you since I got up. Where were you? I need to tell you something."

Dawnwish purred and rolled her eyes. "I was outside, talking with Stonepelt and Swiftblaze. And it's Dawnwish, you nincompoop."

Xeno purred. "I know. What were you doing outside at this hour, though?"

Dawnwish looked at her paws. "We were discussing... We're leaving at sunhigh- uhh, I mean noon." She used a kittypet word for his sake.

Xeno eyes flew wide. "You guys are leaving? I thought that you guys would stay..."

She half-smiled. "We never planned to. Our heart lies deep within the forest, not out on an open barn."

Her brother nodded, grief clouded in his eyes. "I just don't want to lose you again," he whispered. "We have nothing left."

Dawnwish shook her head. "That's not true! You have Secret and your kits. I should be the one to grieve. I'm all alone."

She padded away, Xeno right at her heels.

After a few moments of silence, she asked, "What did you want to tell me earlier?"

Xeno shuffled his paws. "I made my decision."

She held her breath.

"I'm not going."

Disappointment flooded her belly as quickly as water filled a drowning cat's lungs. She let out a sad sigh.

"I guess I can't change your mind. That's too bad. You were probably the only one who could help me. Well, thanks anyway," she mewed absent-mindly.

Xeno looked at the ground. "You should say your goodbyes. And I'm sorry I couldn't, I just-" "It's fine, it's fine, I can't blame you! You're doing what's best for you family. I get it." She turned to run away towards her real Clanmates.

Stonepelt and Swiftblaze were chatting softly with Cyclop and Hay as Lilac slept not to far away. When the warriors saw Dawnwish approaching, they quickly excused themselves and pranced towards her.

"Did he say anything?"

She nodded her head.

"What did he say?"

She shook her head.

Swiftblaze pressed closer to her. "I'm sorry. Come, let's say our goodbyes."

Dawnwish nodded. The two toms were good companions; they never asked why they came here, or what Xeno's power was. She liked it that way.

They said their goodbyes to Cyclop and Hay. They gently licked the sleepy elder's ear before they moved on. Lilac snored on.

Dawnwish thought that the cat that would be the hardest to say goodbye to the most was Leaf, the little former Clan kit that Xeno and Secret had adopted. The two cats had shared a special bond of friendship, no matter the age. Leaf and her sister Wind were always fascinated by the stories that Dawnwish told them about the Clans, and Dawnwish never wanted to see the little cats go.

They approached the kit's hay-hole (as Xeno called it) and they looked inside. Liz, Nighty and Penny were play-fighting in the centre as Leaf and Wind cheered from the safety of the sides.

"I bet Nighty'll win. She has a good eye for weak spots and she can hide in the shadows! That gives her quite an advantage." "You think that ol' Night'll win? No way, she's got no power. Liz is the strongest!"

Dawnwish couldn't help but agree with Wind. Nighty did have an advantage over the others! She would make a good warrior. Leaf would be a great medicine cat!

She sighed. She wished that they, all of the kits, could come into OddClan. She knew that Birdkit was bored with no friends to hang around with all day! Firekit, Brightkit and Petalkit weren't old enough to play or go outside yet, and the apprentices that she ate with were always out training. Plus, Xeno wouldn't like it...

She sighed once more, loud enough to stop the kits from playing. They looked out the hay-hole and brightened up once they saw the forest cats.

"Dawny! Swifty! Stoney! Wanna play moss-ball?"

She smiled. She loved those kits! They called them Dawny, Swifty and Stoney 'cause their real names were too complicated - for them.

Dawnwish had also taught them moss-ball to keep them distracted when a few days ago when Secret went out on a 'powercat patrol'.

But Dawnwish shook her head and lay down on the crunchy straw. "I can't play right now. But I'll tell you one last story before I go."

Gasps erupted from the kits and they started whining and sobbing.

"I thought you were staying forever!" "Why do you have to go?" "Don't leave us!" "We love you!"

She purred. "I love you guys too. I will never forget you guys either."

The kits clambered all over her. The kits really did love her, and she was like their second mother. She purred.

"What would you like the last story to be about?"

The kits started shouting all at once. "The one about the tiger, the lion and the leopard!" "When you first got into your BreezyClan!" "Stories about you and our father when you were growing up!" "You choose! You're a good storyteller..."

Leaf spoke up from all the rest. "Tell us how OddClan came to be!"

Mewls of agreement greeted her words. Dawnwish thought. She had told them about a leader's nine-lives ceremony, about the different Clans, warrior and apprentice ceremonies, the old Gathering, StarClan, the Moonpool and much more. She sighed. Birdkit had asked her the same question when she first arrived to OddClan, but she said that Birchstar would tell her someday. But these were different kits, so why did it matter?

She got into a comfortable position and the kits settled down beside her. "Alright then, here it goes."

"When I was a kittypet, uuh I mean house cat, my name was Angel. My owner, Bob died one day and I had to leave. I journeyed to the forest until I smelled more cats. I followed the scent trail until I got to their camp."

"BreezyClan!" yowled Liz.

Dawnwish purred. "Yes, it was _Wind_Clan. I was kept as a prisoner, you know, just in case. Then I made friends, and I was invited to stay forever."

"Cool," Wind purred.

"They changed my name from Angel the loner/kittypet to Dawnpaw, the apprentice of WindClan. My best friend was a tom named Cloudpaw."

Penny whistled and the kits laughed. "Did you love him?"

Dawnwish smiled and saw Stonepelt and Swiftblaze creep up. They had been listening to the story too. Dawnwish looked around and saw that everyone was listening to the story; even Tammy and Secret who just arrived.

To answer the kits' question, she purred. "Some point in life. Now back to the story!"

"One day, at a Gathering, I met this young ShadowClan warrior named Birchstep. We became close friends but since our territories were far apart. we weren't able to see each other as much. Only at Gatherings.

"So one day, I became a warrior. They named me-"

"Dawnwish?" piped up Nighty.

Dawnwish shook her head. "No. Actually, my name was Dawnfur."

Penny growled. "I think that Dawnwish is much prettier than Dawnfur. Why'd you change it?"

Dawnwish sighed. "Let me finish!" she purred.

"Ok. A couple nights after my warrior ceremony, it was the Gathering.

"I met Birchstep by the foot of the large tree. He told me that him and his new mate, Mistfur, the deputy of ShadowClan, were expecting kits. We talked for a while, and then he accidentally let it slip that he had a power."

The kits gasped. "Wow! He's like us!"

Dawnwish nodded. "Yup. Anyway, since he told me his secret, I told him mine. Together, we were the mutant team of the forest.

"Then, a few Gathering later, Birchstep told me that his kits had been born. One was named Softkit and the other one was Clearkit.

"He told me that Clearkit had a power too. She could turn invisible. Birchstep and Mistfur were afraid for their kit; cause mutation was punished severely.

"A week later, I felt a tingle in my paws, as though something was wrong. I ran out of camp as quickly and quietly as I could. I was going to see Birchstep."

The cats in the barn were listening with close attention.

"As soon as I entered ShadowClan territory, I heard the yowls of a raging battle. I peered closer and saw Birchstep and Mistfur fighting their own Clanmates. Birchstep had Clearkit in his jaws and Mistkit was in her mother's.

"Oh yes, there was also two little ThunderClan kits named Coldkit and Hotkit, and they were terrified. I yowled at Birchstep and Mistfur to run away. They took my advice and ran away, and I chased after them with the two kits in my jaws.

"I caught up to them, and we rested for a little bit." Dawnwish chocked up, knowing what would happen next.

"We were awoken by the sound of Mistfur screaming in agony. The Clan cats caught up to us. I tried using my healing powers to help Mistfur, but it was too late." She let a tear trickle down her cheek at the memory. "She died. Softkit too. Birchstep and the three remaining kits and I ran uphill with ShadowClan at our heels. We lost them once we crossed into WindClan territory.

"We kept running just in case. Then, Birchstep fell into this deep pool."

"The Moonpool," the kits echoed.

"Yes, the Moonpool. He started to drown, too. None of us knew how to swim, though. We tried saving him, but it was hard.

Then, all of a sudden a grey RiverClan queen burst out of nowhere and jumped into the Moonpool. She stayed underwater for a long time, but she managed to pull him out. Birchstep lay of the wet ground, unmoving. Dead."

The kit's gasped. "Why?!"

Dawnwish smiled faintly. "Then he gasped. He was alive. We thanked the pregnant RiverClan queen, who told us her name was Fishtail. We asked how she knew we were here, but she said that she had been chased out of her Clan for being mutant.

"When Birchstep woke, he told us a lot.

"He said; "As I was drowning, water chocked my lungs. I visited StarClan, and they told me a lot. They told me that I should start a new Clan, just for mutants. They said to call it OddClan.""

""I was also given nine lives to help lead this Clan. Well, they gave me eight since I pretty much died in the Moonpool, but still.""

Dawnwish sighed. "So That is how OddClan began."

"Cool!" mewed the kits. "But why are you Dawnwish now instead of Dawnfur?"

"Ah yes, that part. Once we made the camp, Birchstar changed our names so that we wouldn't have to much connection to the past. He named me Dawnwish, Fishtail became Fishleap and Coldkit and Hotkit turned into Icekit and Sparkkit. Only Clearkit stayed the same."

She sighed and looked up at the barn ceiling. "It's time for us to go, little ones. I will miss you." Saying those words broke her heart.

The kits started wailing once more. "No! Don't go!" But the Clan cats had already walked out the barn doors.

Dawnwish sniffed the air. She was greeted with the sweet smells of the forest and the nice chill of a light breeze. Without looking back, Dawnwish sprang forward and the toms followed her without another word.

Before the barn was completely gone from view, the travelling cats heard a faint, "Wait!"

She turned around and saw that a tree-length away, Secret, Tammy and Xeno were sitting there, tails neatly wrapped around their paws. Tears shone in their eyes.

Then, three lively kits bounded out from behind them. Nighty, Wind and Leaf came sprinting towards them.

"We wanna come with you! Daddy and Mommy said that it would be ok, if we wanted. And we do!"

Now, Dawnwish's eyes began to take a swim. "Really?"

"Ya!"

Dawnwish looked at Xeno. He just nodded in approval.

She smiled. "Alright! Come on then, let's go. And I'll teach you the warrior code along the way!"

The kits skipped around their feet and Dawnwish looked back to her childhood friends. "I'm going to miss you all so much. I'll keep in touch."

Then, without another word, the group of six cats made their way back through the forest.

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**Did ya like it?**

**There wasn't very much action in it, I'm sorry. Next chapter will be exciting, I promise. **

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\- Moon that Shines Through Clouds**


	13. Chapter 13: More Friends to Play With

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**Anyway, enough chat. Hope you like this chapter. There shall be promised action, I guarantee!**

**Enjoy chapter 13!**

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**(Birdkit's POV)**

Her wings were gone.

She was sitting in the uplands, where she used to live. She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of the gorse and heather. But something else caught in her nose too.

A rabbit was eating a healthy shrub of comfrey, not to far away.

Birdkit dropped instinctively into a hunting crouch and began to stalk her juicy prey. She could just imagine herself sinking her little teeth into the hare, and the pride on Morningdust's golden face as she brought the frsh-kill home.

One more step and...

She felt a sharp prod in her side and Birdkit was roughly shaken awake.

Her wings were back, and she was lying on the bed of moss she had fallen asleep on the night before. Her eyes still closed, she groaned. The scent of the rabbit in her dream still hung in the air. She opened her eyes.

Morningdust stood over her, a real rabbit dangling in her jaws. Birdkit groaned again.

"I was a whisker-length away from catching one in my dream... It felt so good..."

Morningdust purred. "There will be many more rabbits to catch in your dreams, little one. But right now, we're in the reality. Eat this r_eal_ rabbit quickly, I have to show you something." Birdkit realized that her adoptive mother was brimming with happiness.

Birdkit ate the real rabbit quickly, and turned to Morningdust, who was at the other side of the huge nursery. The former RiverClan queen smiled, then moved aside. Three little kits were staring back up at Birdkit.

"Hello! Who're you?" Birdkit recognized the pelt of Firekit through the darkness. Her heart skipped with joy. _My new friends are ready to play!_

Birdkit smiled. "I'm Birdkit. And I guess that you guys are Brightkit, Firekit and Petalkit, right?"

The kits' eyes widened. "She knows our name! Mama, she's gonna eat us!"

Morningdust laughed. "Just because someone knows your name doesn't mean that they're going to eat you! And I told her what your names were. It's ok, she's your new friend."

Birghtkit stared at Birdkit. "Friends? Cool! Wanna play?"

Birdkit nodded. Playing would distract her from the absence of Dawnwish, Stonepelt and Swiftblaze. Also, Nopaw and the other apprentices were out training, and she was usually bored. Playing wouldn't hurt, would it?

Birdkit looked at Morningdust, and she nodded. "Yes, go play. Let me sleep. Run along now, and don't get into trouble!"

Petalkit jumped up. "Yay! Let's go!"

The kits ran outside. When they saw the camp for the first time, they gasped.

"It's huge!" Firekit exclaimed. Brightkit and Petalkit could only nod, their mouths hung open in astonishment.

Birdkit giggled. "C'mon, before we play, we should take a tour!"

At the mention of tour, the newest warrior Clearmist padded over. "Did somebody say 'tour'?"

Morningdust's children cheered. "Birdkit did! She's taking us on a tour around the camp before we play!"

Clearmist smiled. "I'll join you. Is that ok, Birdkit!"

She nodded. She truthfully just wanted to play, not tour!

Clearmist noticed. "Ok kits, follow me! You can stay here if you want, Birdkit. I'll send them back here when I'm done." The mini group of cats marched off.

Birdkit wached from the nursery entrance as they met new cats and saw new places. After what seemed like an age, Clearmist brough Firekit, Brightkit and Petalkit back to the nursery.

"Here you go. Have fun! I'm off on a border patrol now. See ya!"

And she was off.

Birdkit turned and faced the kits. "Ok, today we are going to play 'Leaders!'

Petalkit turned her head to one side. "What's that?"

"It's a game that I made up." Birdkit stood up proudly.

Firekit nodded. "Cool! How do you play?" Birdkit started to explain.

"So there's one leader, and the rest of us are apprentices. The leader then gives the apprentices their warrior names, and they go out on patrol, maybe even battle a little bit..."

The kits' eyes brightened. "I wanna play! I wanna play!"

Birdkit smiled. "I'll start off as leader."

Firekit grumbled. "No fair! I wanna start off as leader!"

Birdkit shook her head. "No. I'm starting, just so that you know how this game works. You can be the leader next."

"Okay!" Firekit's eyes brightened at the sound of that.

Birdkit looked around. She spotted a medium-sized rock next to the apprentice's den. Perfect.

She raced to it, the three little kits at her heels. She lept onto the rock and called out, "Let all cats old enough to know their own powers join under the LittleRock for a FunClan meeting!"

Firekit spoke up. "When We play, do we have to be FunClan too?"

Birdkit sighed. "No."

When Birdkit looked back at the kits, she was surprised to see not only the kits, but Morningdust, Birchstar and Fishleap gathered around the LittleRock (as she hd called it). They probably came to cheer the kits on.

Birdkit commenced. "I, Birdstar, leader of FunClan, wish to make these young apprentices warriors." They were not the right words, but in this game, you didn't have to do this properly.

"Firepaw, Brightpaw and Petalpaw, come here." The kit-apprentices made their way towards their 'leader'.

"Do you accept the position of a FunClan warrior, or do you back down from such an honour?"

"No! I was born a warrior, and I will be a warrior!" Firekit yelled.

"Ya!" echoed his sisters.

"Alright then. By the powers of our ancestors, I give you your warrior names.

"Firepaw; you are now Fireclaw, Brightpaw; you are now Brightpelt and Petalpaw; you shall be know as Petalnose."

"Fireclaw! Brightpelt! Petalnose!" Birchstar, Morningdust and Fishleap cheered.

Birdkit flashed with pride. She would absolutely love to be leader one day!

"Ok, your turn!" She meowed to Firekit. He looked at he with confusion.

"Aren't we going on a patrol or something, Bird_sta_r?" Birdkit shook her head. "I want to give you guys a turn first. Go up there and give me a name, Fire_star_!" Firekit smiled and jumped onto the LittleRock.

After a long talk about FlameClan and how awesome he was, he gave them the names of Brightear, Petaltail and Birdfur.

"Ew! Our names are gross!" Brightkit exclaimed. Birdkit and Petalkit agreed.

Firekit growled. "Do you want to be exiled? No, you don't. The leader's word is law!" He turned around and looked at Morningdust, Birchstar and Fishleap, who had just finished chanting the new names. He gasped. "Oh no! Intruders!"

Birdkit looked at the older cats and growled, playing along. She could just imagine them as evil, ShadowClan cats.

Firekit yowled. "They're EvilClan cats! FlameClan, attack!"

Birdkit launched herself on Birchstar as Firekit attacked Fishleap. His sisters were leaping at Morningdust.

Birdkit scratched Birchstar, claws sheathed. He pretended to yowl in agony as Birdkit cuffed him around his ear. Birdkit soon figured out that her wings could help her too! They protected a shield around her sensitive parts and she was able to knock enemies over with them. After a minute of flapping and hissing, Birdkit had pinned Birchstar to the ground. He struggled to get free, then whimpered. "Have mercy! Let me go, please!"

Birdkit let go of Birchstar and the real leader charged off through the Dirtplace tunnel. She looked around.

Brightkit and Petalkit had looks of triumph on their faces, and Morningdust was nowhere to be seen. Only Firekit and Fishleap were still fighting ferociously.

Finally, Firekit held Fishleap down to the ground. "You... win..." she chocked to the triumphant apprentice. Firekit smiled in victory. "We win! Victory goes to Flame Clan!"

Then, all of a sudden, the three newest kits collapsed on the floor. Fishleap got up, shrieking and Birchstar rushed over, Morningdust at his heels.

"What happened? They just randomly collapsed on the floor!"

Birdkit approached Petalkit. She prodded her delicate belly with a gentle paw. Petalkit grumbled and snored. _Snored?_

Birdkit laughed. "They're sleeping! They must be exhausted." Just as she said those words, she realized how tired she was too. She stiffed a yawn.

Fishleap nodded. "Let's get them back to the nursery so that they can sleep. They'll wake up when they're ready."

The three warrior brought them to the nursery, but right before they lay Birdkit down onto the soft moss, she screamed.

"Dawnwish! Look!"

The warriors turned around and saw the truth. Dawnwish, Stonepelt, Swiftblaze and three little kits raced back to camp.

"Hello! We're back!"

Cats from inside the camp started to rush towards the cats who had just arrived. The apprentices who were out training with their mentors ran into camp, wanting to know what this noise was about.

"Hey, is that... Dawnwish?" Bigpaw shrieked. Everybody was happy.

Birdkit noticed that the three kits who had come in with them looked terrified. First off, nobody was paying attention to them and second, they were scared about these giant cats with these terrible scars. They cowered closer to the brambles.

Birdkit hopped over to them. "Hi! Don't be scared. I'm Birdkit."

The three kits looked at Birdkit's wings and nodded. "D-Dawnwish told us a little about you," said a white she-kit with blue eyes.

Birdkit realized that these kits were a only moon older than her.

"Oh, by the way; I'm Wind." The white kit spoke again. "And these are my sisters, Nighty and Leaf." The black kit with amber eyes nodded in approval as the light tabby smiled weakly.

Birdkit smiled too. "I guess that you wanna be warriors, huh?" Leaf, Nighty and Wind nodded. "Cool!" Birdkit exclaimed. "First, I'll give you a tour of the camp."

Forgetting about her tiredness, she prepared to drag her new friends across the camp but was instantly stopped by Snakefang.

The poisonous-fanged warrior growled. "Who are you, little ones?"

Swiftblaze noticed the four kits facing Snakefang and bounded over to the, the rest of the curious Clan at his heels.

"Oh yes, I forgot. This is Wind, Night and Leaf! They are Xeno's kits."

Fishleap tilted her head. "Who's Xeno?"

Dawnwish spoke up. "He's my brother. We went to go see him. I needed him to do a favour for me..." She sighed. "As he was deciding, I told these kits all about our Clan. They... They wanted to join us in the end. So here they are!" she finished, then yawned. "I'm going to bed. Splashpaw," she turned towards her apprentice, "I want to hear about everything that happened here when I wake up." Then, easy as that, she stalked back into the den.

Stonepelt raised his eyebrows. "Well, that was a quick explanation..."

Eggclaw spoke above the crowd. "What did you go there for?"

Swiftblaze thought for a moment. "She never said," he replied simply. Eggclaw snorted.

"You mean... You never asked her why you when deep into the Twolegplace? Or why you were going anyway? She could have been setting you into a trap!"

Swiftblaze rolled his eyes. The whole Clan was watching this now.

"She would never send us into a trap. She's our medicine cat! And anyway, whatever her offer was, Xeno said no. He refused."

He yawned too. "I'm going to our den. Coming Stonepelt?" The big grey warrior nodded. Birdkit noticed how tired the two warriors looked, and she let them pass back to the warrior's den.

Birchstar had appeared. "Hello. Do you have powers? Because in OddClan, you must have powers-"

Wind, Nighty and Leaf interrupted. "We know," they giggled. "And yes, we do." Curiously, Birdkit crept a little closer to her new friends, wanting to know more.

Wind went first. "I can breathe things that other cats can't! Like smoke and water and stuff! Oh, I can also fly!" Birdkit couldn't help herself. She gasped. "F-fly?" Wind looked at her like she was crazy. "Yeah." The little white kit suddenly lifted up into the air. She zoomed around the camp once, and came back to where she started. "Easy. I thought that you'd be able to fly, cause, you know, you have wings..."

Birdkit shook her head. "I've tried. It seems that I'm too heavy." She bent her head. Wind shrugged. "Maybe tomorrow, I can help you learn!" "Really?" "Sure! Why not?"

Birchstar interrupted. "Ok Wind, that's enough. What about you, Nighty?"

The black kit beamed, but didn't say a word. She just turned around and started to walk across the camp. "Wait!" Birdkit called. But Wind silenced her with a shush.

The Clan watched and Nighty walked towards the Ancient Oak. As soon and she stepped under the shade of the leafy green branches, she disappeared. "Cool!"

Nighty walked out from under the shadows and reappeared. She joined her new Clanmates at the entrance of the camp where they greeted them. "My power is that I can turn invisible in the shadows."

Birchstar purred. "We could see that. Next... Leaf!"

The shy, light tabby shuffled her paws in embarrassment. "I... Uh..."

Nighty rolled her eyes. "She's a little shy. Anyway, she is as light as, well, a leaf! She can even walk on water!"

Lightstep bounded over from his place in the cracked stone wall. For a moment, Birdkit thought that he was going to get blown away, since she never saw him come out of his special den. But as soon as he crossed the clearing, his apprentice, Vinepaw, dug her claws into the ground. Vines suddenly sprung out from the ground and wrapped themselves around the deputy's feet, stopping him from flying away.

Lightstep looked at Leaf with interest. "Do you fly away when the slighted breeze is present?"

Leaf looked at the strange cat. "Uh... No."

Lightstep sighed. "It's just that I have the same power as you, but I get swept away by the slightest change of wind. Truthfully," he meowed, "I envy you." He smiled, then turned around back to his den. As soon as he reached there, Vinepaw's vines loosened around his legs and permitted him to jump back into the crack. "Thanks Vinepaw."

Birdkit's attention was drawn back to the three new kits. Nighty yawned, and she realized that these kits were very tired too. Birchstar noticed this and he asked, "Eggclaw, Icepath, Sparkwhisker. Bring these kits back to the nursery. Ask Morningdust if she can manage three more. Poor her, she's going to be packed with kits!"

Eggclaw, Icepath and Sparkwhisker, on Birchstar's command, picked up the sleepy kits and brought them to the nursery. Birchstar watched them go inside and then he continued.

"Lightstep," he called. "Would you be able to take a dawn patrol out tomorrow? Bring Vinepaw and two other warriors with you."

Lightstep nodded from the crack in the wall. "Snakefang, Clearmist, are you up for the challenge?" "Sure Lightstep." "Alright!"

Birchstar then looked at Birdkit. "Birdkit, you look asleep on your paws. Go to the nursery and have a nap."

Birdkit groaned. "But it's still bright outside!" Birchstar raised is eyebrows, and Birdkit knew that she lost. "Ok, ok, I'm going..."

She pulled the way through the crowd and towards the nursery. She walked inside and was surprised to see Morningdust stroking a sleeping Nighty's pelt.

"So many kits... At this rate, I'll be the leader of KittenClan!"

Birdkit purred. "The nursery can be the camp! And can I be the deputy, Morning_star_?"

The she-cat giggled. "Sure, little one."

Birdkit's eyes drooped. "Leaf can be the medicine cat," she yawned. "I don't think she wants to be a warrior..."

Birdkit's eyes closed. The last thing that she heard before drifting asleep was, "Sleep well, Birdkit. Tomorrow, your new friends will get their warrior names and you'll train and become the best warriors you can be."

* * *

"Ouch!"

Birdkit got clawed in the side. She woke up with a start.

"Firekit..."

Firekit bounced round. "C'mon, Birdkit! The meeting's about to start!"

Birdkit remembered what Morningdust had said before she fell asleep. Wind, Leaf and Nighty were going to get their new names! Birdkit charged out of the nursery and past Firekit. "Woah, slow down, speedy bird!"

When Birdkit and Firekit arrived, the rest of the Clan was already gathered below the Ancient Oak. Birchstar seemed to be waiting. When he saw Birdkit and Firekit, he smiled and said, "Let's begin."

Before he could open his mouth, Fishleap yowled. "Where is Lightstep?" Birchstar rolled his eyes. "Lightstep is on the dawn patrol, you should know that."

"Anyway, today we are gathered here today to give names to these three kits. "The names we shall give these kits will be theirs until they become apprentices, and then hopefully warriors."

"Wind, Nighty, Leaf do you want to become a part of OddClan?"

Wind yelled, "Yeah!", Nighty smiled and said, "Of course." and Leaf just nodded her head.

Birdkit waited with the rest of the Clan in anticipation.

"Wind, you are now Airkit. Nighty, you shall now be known as Darkkit and Leaf, your name is now Leafkit."

Birdkit saw the newly-named kits glow with pride. "Airkit! Darkkit! Leafkit!" the Clan chanted.

Birdkit went to go congratulate them. "Nice names!"

Airkit laughed. "I like mine! Leafkit's barely changed at all!"

Leafkit shrugged. "I like it that way," she said. Then she giggled. "Night- uh, I mean Darkkit's name sounds evil!"

Darkkit growled. "Hey!"

Suddenly, the ferns guarding the entrance of camp rustled. The Clan fell silent.

They heard the gasping of a cat's breath, but the cat was nowhere to be seen. Then Birchstart exclaimed, "Clearmist!"

Clearmist came into view. There was sweat all over her pelt, and something else- was that _blood_?

Birchstar leapt off the Ancient Oak quickly as the crowd gasped. "Clearmist, what happened? Where are the others?" the leader said in a panicked mew.

Clearmist shrieked. "Dogs! The patrol is getting attacked by dogs! We need help, quick!"

Clearmist started to sob.

"And Lightstep... Lightstep is dead."

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**Cliffhanger!**

**Hope that you liked it. Review please!**

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**I'll update as soon as I can. TNT,  
\- moonshine57 (it was typed with my nose)**


	14. Chapter 14: When All Hope is Lost

**OMG! 58 reviews! I love you guys!**

**Sorry I left it on a cliffy, I wanted some suspense. **

**Here is chapter 14! Enjoy!**

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**(Birchstar's POV)**

The cats in the clearing gasped and wailed in horror. Birchstar could not believe his ears. Lightstep, dead? His deputy, dead? His best friend... dead.

_This is my fault_, he thought. _I should never have told him to go on a patrol..._

_But how would you have known that this would happen? _said a nagging voice at the back of his brain. Birchstar shook it out of his head.

His daughter Clearmist, bloody from fighting, continued to speak. "W-we saw the d-dogs, and th-the dogs s-saw us. They charged a-at us, and Light...Lightstep jumped on t-top of one. Then the w-wind blew..." she shuddered and sobbed. "He was t-taken away by the w-wind and he hit a tree." she wailed. "We heard the snap of b-bone and he was l-lost. Gone."

Birchstar shook his head in grief. "Where are the others?" he tried to say in a calm voice, but it squeaked like a kit's.

"Well, S-Snakefang is probably o-out still there fighting still. H-he killed one of the d-dogs with his t-teeth though." Clearmist responded in a shaky voice.

Birchstar's eyes widened. "So there are more than one dog. Oh, Vinepaw! Is she ok?"

Clearmist nodded. "When I left, she had made some sort of thorny vine shield to protect herself."

Dawnwish appeared. "Good. Birchstar, what are you going to do about this? There are only two warriors left now. We should help them!"

Birchstar did not need to think twice. "Two patrols. Clearmist, take the first and show them where the dogs are. I'll take the second and follow right behind you."

Now for the patrols. "Stonepelt, Sparkwhisker, Fishleap, and take Nopaw. That's the first patrol."

"Second; Swiftblaze, Icepath, Eggclaw and Dawnwish! Don't forget Splashpaw!"

Bigpaw growled. "What about me? Vinepaw's my sister! By the name of Minnowstar's most stinky-"

Birchstar knew better than to argue. "Bigpaw, first patrol! Morningdust, you're in charge while I'm gone."

She rolled her fearful eyes. "I'll be the only warrior here anyway. You can count on me, Birchstar! Now go! Our other Clanmates might be hurt!"

"First patrol; go now! Oh, and kits," he told the disappointed kits who had been left behind, "defend the camp."

"Yes sir!" squeaked the newly named Leafkit. Birchstar nodded and returned to his patrol.

"Second patrol, go! Don't forget to fight with your powers if necessary!"

And the second patrol was off. Birchstar couldn't help thinking, _how many more dead are we going to return with?_

* * *

The battle was raging fierce.

When the second patrol arrived at the clearing, every single battling cat looked a little more relived. Yet Birchstar couldn't believe his eyes. There were eight dogs in the clearing; yet two were dead, so that made six alive. They rushed into battle right away.

Birchstar flung himself at the biggest dog, who seemed to be the leader of the pack. Leader and leader, they clashed and fought like never before. Birchstar knew that he couldn't be killed in battle, so he wasn't as afraid as the other warriors.

They fought for many minutes, until the lead dog huffed and sat down for a break. "Losers." Birchstar growled. But he was tired to, so he sat down for a moment.

During that time, he looked around. Powers were going off everywhere; Stonepelt had his rock body on as he clawed the flank of a russet dog, Bigpaw and Vinepaw were using their powers on a big brown one as Nopaw distracted it with his 'Twolegness'.

He looked the other way and saw a light body on the ground. _Lightstep._

He ran over to his dead friend and buried his nose in its fur. A tear trickled down his cheek. He had the strength in battle, but not for this.

He lifted his head and turned around. Suddenly, all the fighting slowed, then stopped. Cats' froze in mid-leap, and some dogs' jaws were open widely, their spit drops hung in midair.

Everything was frozen. Even time. Except for him. He was so confused.

He looked back at Lightstep's broken body. He let out a gasp. There was another cat standing over it, and it seemed to be moving, like him.

_Didn't the time just stop?_

Birchstar stepped forward towards the cat. "H-hello?"

The cat turned around and he gasped again. The cat standing over Lightstep was... Lightstep.

The moving Lightstep looked at his old friend and smiled sadly. "Hello, Birchstar."

Birchstar noticed starlight around his paws. This was Lightstep, StarClan form...

He though that he should be scared, but he wasn't. This was just like the time at the Moonpool. "Lightstep! I'm... I'm sorry."

The star-Lightstep shrugged. "It was the time that StarClan has chosen for me to come join them. I've had a good life," he added bitterly; "longer than I should have." Birchstar knew that his friend was referring to the time when their Clans threatened to kill them. They both sighed and lay down, sharing tongues for the last time, even though there was a horrific, deadly battle frozen all around them.

Birchstar was transported many moons back. "Remember that time when we found you?" Birchstar asked his dead deputy. Lightstep nodded. "Yeah."

"You found me stuck in a tree, you brought me back to OddClan and changed my name from Lightfoot to Lightstep. And then the next day Fishleap was kitting! Since she had her new little Splashkit to take care of, you named me deputy instead of her, even though it was only my second day there!" The cats chuckled.

"I have to admit; you were bad at first, but then you became the best deputy I could ever have." Birchstar sighed in grief. "You should've became OddClan's leader after me."

Lightstep shook his head. "I would never become Lightstar, and you know it. Anyway, my life is done. I am no longer the OddClan deputy, but a StarClan warrior."

There was a moment of silence, then Birchstar looked around the bloody clearing of cats and dogs. He saw Fishleap in the middle of clashing a dog's eye, and Dawnwish seemed to be putting an ointment on Swiftblaze's bloody flank.

"Was it you who stopped the time?"

Lightstep tilted his head from side to side, as though saying yes and no at the same time. "It was StarClan who decided."

"Why?" Birchstar couldn't seem to hold the question in.

Lightstep smiled a mysterious way. "I have a message from StarClan. Protect Birdkit from every danger in her path, even at the cost of your lives. She is important."

Birchstar looked confused. "Birdkit? Protect? Why?"

But he saw Lightstep slowly start to fade away. "Protect Birdkit! Never forget!"

"Wait!" Birchstar watched Lightstep become more see-through, and his voice became no more than a whisper. "StarClan is on your side..."

The OddClan leader suddenly yowled at his faded friend, "Lightstep! Tell Mistfur and Softkit that I miss them!"

Birchstar could swear that he heard a faint whisper, "We will always be with you!"

Suddenly, the battle unpaused. Screeches filled the air as Fishleap finished clawing the dog and Dawnwish finished pressing ointment of Swiftblaze's scarred flank. "There you go..."

Birchstar bent his head to the unmoving body of Lightstep. "Goodbye, friend," he murmured. He turned and stalked back into the battle. _What did that mean?_

He didn't have to think for long. He soon felt long claws rake his head and he turned to see the lead dog he was fighting before. He snarled and leapt on it.

_I've got StarClan on my side..._

They fought for what seemed like hours. Birchstar felt himself get weaker and weaker by the strike, yet the dogs didn't seem tired at all. The clearing floor was stained with blood, and most of it were cats. _No StarClan, we're loosing, all hope is lost._

* * *

Birdkit paced anxiously around the camp. She and Morningdust alone seemed anxious about what would happen during the battle, but the others chatted happily about it.

"I bet Snakefang killed all of them by now. He's the Clan's best fighter!" Firekit mewed excitendly.

"Who's Snake-fang?" Darkkit wondered.

"Not Snake**-**fang, just Snakefang. His power is that his teeth are so poisonous, it kills anything he bites!" Petalkt explained.

"Ya, so just be careful and don't accept any prey that he hunts! Only he can survive that poison." Brightkit giggled.

Leafkit sighed with relief. "Thank goodness! You guys make it sound like OddClan is very powerful. We're winning for sure!"

Birdkit shuffled her paws. "I don't know, guys... I mean, Lightstep died... The battle must be hard." She felt a tear trickle down her cheek. She hadn't talked to Lightstep very much when he was alive but when she did, he was very nice and funny. He was also one of the most respected warriors in all the Clan, and she knew that it would break Birchstar's heart to chose another deputy to replace him. She knew that this was the first warrior's death in OddClan.

But Firekit shrugged. "Lightstep was weak. The other warriors are stronger, and they'll beat the dogs for sure!"

Morningdust gasped. "Firekit! Don't ever say that again!" Tears shone in her eyes. "Go back to the nursery. Your time outside the den today is done." Firekit looked like he was going to protest, but he hung his head in shame at being scolded by his mother, so he slowly walked into the nursery.

Morningdust wiped her tears away. "I can't believe he said that..."

Birdkit shuffled to her adoptive mother. "What's wrong?"

Morningdust ignored her. Instead, she mewed, "Did I ever tell you what my powers were?"

"Nope," Birdkit realized, suddenly interested in what the queen had to say. Her own kits and the new ones were interested too, so Morningdust continued with the story.

"My power is that my pelt changes along with the weather."

Birdkit gasped. "Really? I never noticed!"

Morningdust purred. "Well, it's Greenleaf, and it's been sunny every day that I've been here. But you'll see that in the winter, my pelt turns a frosty-grey. In Leaf-fall, my pelt is ginger and during the spring, it's a nice light, tabby brown."

Airkit's eyes widened. "Cool," she muttered.

"What about at night? Does your pelt change in the night?" Darkkit asked curiously.

Morningdust purred and nodded. "Yup. It turns black like the night sky."

Birdkit groaned. "I never even saw it, and I've been sleeping with her for two weeks."

Brightkit giggled. "We've only been around for two weeks!"

Morningdust rolled her eyes in amusement. "Well, you guys were sleeping most of the time. Also, it's quite dark outside at night, so it's harder to see. The nursery shadows don't help either."

The cats sighed. They hoped that the fighting cats were ok. They ate as the sun went down, and at last the kits scurried one by one into the comfy nursery.

Soon it was only Morningdust and Birdkit left in the OddClan clearing.

"Dusk," Moriningdust suddenly meowed. "It has always been my favourite time of day."

Birdkit noticed for the first time that Morningdust's usually golden pelt was now a pinky-gold colour. "I like your pelt," Birdkit remarked.

A couple more minutes of silence. Then Birdkit spoke again. "I... I don't think that they're coming back tonight." Morningdust nodded.

"Um, Morningdust?"

"Yes Birdkit. Ask me anything."

"Why did you protect Lightstep so fiercely? Do you... love him, or something?"

Morningdust's eyes shot up wide. "Oh, no, not in the world!"

She huffed sadly. "He... he was my brother. So he is Firekit's uncle, and his nephew was making fun of him!" She wailed.

Birdkit felt sorry. "I'm so sorry! I didn't notice... I didn't know..." She gulped. "But... you came to the Clan a long time after he did. Why?"

"A lot of 'whys' coming from you today, huh?" the former RiverClan warrior joked. "I came a while after because my power started to develop later than his did. He was exiled under the name of Lightfoot, did you know that?"

Birdkit shook her head. "No. Why'd they change it?"

Morningdust shrugged. "It's supposed to take a bit of memory away from the past."

"Why didn't they change you name?"

"Cause I asked Birchstar not to."

Birdkit was going to ask why, but Morningdust whisked her into the nursery. "You're asleep on your paws. Have a little snooze, and hopefully the others will be back tomorrow." Morningdust left her alone in the nursery to go stand guard of camp.

Birdkit never thought that she'd ever fall asleep, but she eventually did, thinking of Lightstep, Morningdust, Firekit and the dogs that might be tearing her new Clan apart.

* * *

**You guys are awesome! Thanks for the reviews!**

**By the way, I've been getting a lot of OCs lately. I will try to use them all at one point, but for the next 3 chapters, no one new is going to appear. Just saying. But thanks anyways!**

**Reviewers will get a plushie of... what about Firekit? The little troublemaker...**

**Thanks for reading, keep reviewing! Stay in touch,  
\- sMhoionne (guess what I did there! The first person who gets it will get their OC in the next chapter! Only one please!)**


	15. Chapter 15: Flames and Fear

**I'm back! Once more...**

**The review score was... AWESOME! Thank you guys so much! Sometimes those mean reviewers annoy me so much... But you guys overpowered! *high-fives everyone* Yeah! I say... ONWARD!**

**There were some really good guesses for what I did with my name last _story_ chapter. Just to tell you what I did, I took 'moon' and 'shine' parts and placed one letter of 'shine', then one letter of 'moon', one letter of 'shine', one letter of 'moon'... So '_s_M_h_o_i_o_n_n**_**e**_**'! Get it? Probably not...**

**Anyway, here is chapter 15! Yay!**

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**(Birchstar's POV)**

All of the warriors around him were weakening. Even himself, Birchstar, who was unable to be killed in battle, was slowing down. He noticed his paw swipes were becoming more weak with fatigue. and his back claws ached from jumping so much.

The moon had risen high in the sky. It was harder to see, which was bad for them. The dogs would have another advantage.

Birchstar was the only not-bloody animal in this clearing. His faithful warriors were scraped, scratched and bruised all over thanks to those dogs. They were still fighting, yet their eyes were still full of fear and fatigue. Birchstar had no choice.

"OddClan! Retreat!"

His warriors did not need to be told twice. They dodged through the slashes of leaping claws and snapping teeth and they ran towards the only exit. "Come on, quickly!"

Birchstar led the troop of warriors towards the exit. One pawstep-

BAM!

Birchstar and his warriors were thrown backwards, back onto the sandy hollow floor where the bloodthirsty dogs were. His head slammed into the dirt, and he groaned in agony.

Wobbling, he shakily stood up, spitting out a glob of dirt as he did so. His head started to spin and he felt dizzy. _Urgh._

Birchstar looked up to see the lead dog looming over him. Spit hung hungrily out of his jaws as the dog looked at him with hating, yellow eyes. Its thick, bloody grey fur held together in matted clumps, but Birchstar could see that there were scars over the dog's mangled pelt. _Take that, stupid piece of foxdung!_

The leader looked bravely into the eyes of the dog. "W-what do y-you w-want?" Birchstar mewed weakly. He knew that the dogs would not understand his catspeak, but it was worth a try.

The dog kept on staring into the smaller cat's eyes. The beast gave it a look to plainly that said, _There is only one way out of this mess, cat-prey._

Birchstar sighed. He knew what that 'one way' was. And that was that there could only be one winner.

He looked over to his Clanmates, bruised and battered. Dawnwish was scurrying on the side of the clearing, checking for wounds that could get infected. He looked over and saw Snakefang lying unconscious by a tree stump. _Our best fighter..._

He knew what would happen. This was where OddClan would end.

He turned to walk away, towards one of the dogs, hoping that it would get the message. But as soon as he left his ground, his Clanmates started to shout.

"We can do this, Birchstar!" "Never give up! There is always hope!" "Trust in StarClan; they know what's best!" "For Lightstep!"

At the mention of Lightstep, Birchstar froze. He looked over to where his faithful friend lay. _StarClan is on my side..._

Then he remembered what his friend had said. _Protect Birdkit..._ Birchstar wouldn't be able to protect her if he died here, before she was even an apprentice!

He smiled. _I'm a leader!_ he thought._ I've got nine live, too! I should show them the example of never to give up!_

He made up his mind. He breathed in and bellowed, "OddClan, ATTACK! For Lightstep!"

"For Lightstep!" they chanted and raced back into battle, stronger than before.

Birchstar leaped onto the back of the lead dog. It snarled and snapped his jaws as Birchstar dug his claws deep into its matted fur. "Take that, Fartface!"

Birchstar felt the power of StarClan on his shoulders. He could feel his mother Wildflower's determination, his mate Mistfur's sacrifice and his daughter Softkit's bravery. He was aware of Lightstep's cleverness and his father Gorgestar's strength. The ones he loved and missed were present; he could feel them all around him.

The wild animals fought and yowled in the dead of night. Birchstar wondered, only for a split second, if Morningdust could hear the fighting cats from camp.

Slash, swipe, claw and hiss. After a while, Birchstar saw a pattern in the dog's fighting technique. He seemed to be repeating to same moves over and over. He looked over his shoulder for long enough, just to see that every single dog in the hollow was fighting the same way.

"It's a pattern!" he yelled as he dodged a long swipe from the beast. "Use it against them!"

The cats got his idea, and they started to use it against them. Soon, there was another dog down.

Birchstar huffed proudly. Three dogs left!

The Clan cats split into three equal groups; one group per dog. Birchstar had Nopaw and Sparkwhisker.

"Nopaw, time to Twoleg!" Nopaw did not need to be told twice. He turned into a no haired thing and started slapping the dog in the face. It quickly caught it's attention.

The dog hissed at Nopaw and the beast flung itself on the poor apprentice. The beast bit his giant pink paw and Nopaw yelped. Instinctively, Sparkwhisker leapt on the lead dog's back, preventing it from chewing the apprentice to shreds.

The dog roared. Slash, swipe, claw, hiss. Birchstar decided that it was his time to shine. As the dog slashed, Birchstar dodged it at the last second and the dog fell on the floor. Birchstar and Sparkwhisker took this time as an advantage and began to rake their claws down its ribs, spraying foul-smelling blood everywhere.

The wild beast barked and rolled back up again. As the pattern goes, the swipe came next, yet Birchstar, Sparkwhisker and a shaken Nopaw were ready once more. The dog fell once again with a thump.

The wild beast roared with frustration and agony as Birchstar ripped a sweeping gash through the matted fur. But this time, the dog stayed down. It did not bother to get back up, and it just lay there, bleeding in the sand as cats ripped his pelt to shreds.

Birchstar leapt on top of the dog's rising and falling flank. "OddClan! We are the victorious!"

But before they could leave the hollow, the two healthy dogs guarded the entrance again. Birchstar hissed in frustration. "Come on, we beat you! Let us be! Without a leader, what are you?"

But the dogs didn't move. Birchstar felt a tapping on his shoulder and looked down to see Bigpaw staring at something in the distance. "Um, Birchstar?"

Birchstar looked at what Bigpaw looked at and his eyes flew open again. He dog was standing above them once more, the evil drool hanging out of his jaws.

Birchstar smacked a tail across his forehead. "The 'play-dead' method... Why didn't I think of that?"

As soon as those words left his mouth, the dog sprang at him and the battle recommended.

Birchstar dodged another claw and hiss, but he knew that dodging won't help them forever. The cats were starving; they hadn't eaten anything since the day before.

They battled until the sun came up. Another dog died, which left only two. The lead dog obviously was nervous. He whined in unexpected moments and his swipes were less controlled.

Even though they were winning, Birchstar could see that every single cat in this clearing was tired and aching all over. Fishleap had stopped battling after the second dog had ripped his claws through her pelt, sending her to Dawnwish moaning in agony. Dawnwish had fixed her up, but Fishleap was still in no state to fight.

Suddenly, Birchstar felt his legs buckle underneath him, and he fell to the ground rise. He fell with a thump, but the others took no notice.

He tried to get up, but he was to exhausted to move. Instead, he looked at the battle raging around him.

Icepath, Sparkwhisker, Nopaw and Bigpaw were fighting the second dog. They were doing quite well, despite their fatigue. Birchstar gathered enough strength to say, "Use your powers!"

At those words, Bigpaw swelled until he was bigger than the dog and Nopaw transformed into the Twoleg. Icepath shot a thick layer of ice at the dog, and it froze its paws to the ground. The animal roared in fury.

The lead dog heard the roar, clawed Stonepelt's leg one last time and came charging over to where his friend stood frozen to the floor. He stared for a moment as the second dog whined, then he looked straight at Icepath. The poor warrior didn't even realize that it was coming until it came.

The dog leaped on the ice cat, jaws snapping un fury. He landed on the warrior and squashed him flat, and started raking his long, bloodstained claws across his pelt.

Icepath howled. It was a fur-curling scream. Sparkwhisker yowled. "Don't touch my brother, you filthy beast!"

The dog looked around to stare at Sparkwhisker, leaving Icepath a chance to escape. The injured warrior scampered to Dawnwish, shaking.

The dog looked at Sparkwhisker with a beam of hatred. The beast licked his lips and his eyes could be read; _Bring it on._

Sparkwhisker howled. The dog barked and flung himself onto the smaller cat. Sparkwhisker dodged swiftly out of the way.

Then, the cat raked the belly of the dog and it howled in pain. Sparkwhisker to a step back and suddenly, his pelt caught on fire. The cats yelped and stood back, not wanting to get their fur burned off.

The dog had recovered. The fury in its eyes was scary to look at, but the flaming Sparkwhisker held his gaze steadily. _I've never noticed how brave he was,_ Birchstar thought.

The dog looked less brave as he stared at Sparkwhisker. _He probably knows that if he touches him, he'll burn!_

Sparkwhisker growled. "Come on, you filthy beast. Bring it on." His fur-fire rose even higher.

The dog howled and swiped at Sparkwhisker, sending the cat flying backwards. Surprisingly, the dog was not on fire.

_Gah, it must be that he has so much blood on this paws! It acts like water..._

Sparkwhisker landed at the foot of the frozen dog, his pelt still burning hot. It started to melt the ice holding the dog's paws together... "Run away, Sparkwhisker! You're melting the ice!"

But Sparkwhisker did not move. Birchstar realized that the ginger tom was unconscious. "Oh no, this is bad..."

The second dog was now free. It stood triumphantly with Sparkwhisker still on his paws.

The dog reached down to pick up the unconscious cat, but as soon as the dog clamped his jaws around Sparkwhisker's scruff, his pelt was alight with flames. The dog howled, screamed and roared as the flames grew higher. It then dashed out of camp, moaning in pain, making there only one dog left.

Birchstar stood up and looked into the startled eyes of the pack leader. His eyes were menacing, but there was a hint of fear in them too. Birchstar smiled. "Poor little puppy, beaten by the kitties."

The dogs looked back in to the eyes of his prey and did something surprising. It spoke.

"This fight is not over. It never will be. And we are not beaten, not yet."

The cats gasped. A dog talking cat? This was impossible, unless it was...

"Are you a mutant?" Birchstar asked the dog.

The dog growled and shook his head. "I am not a freak like you. I was the first dog to ever live, back in those days. I learned how to speak many languages, including cat, fox and badger."

"H-how are you the 'first dog'? I mean, you should probably be dead by now, if you were."

The dog snickered. You don't get it, do you? This battle will never be over. I live forever - I cannot die. There shall be no cats left, and I shall dominate even more territory!"

Birchstar heard Vinepaw murmur, "Totally mutant," but he took no notice. Birchstar knew that the dog was right. Every cat will die, even him. The dog will find a way to kill them all.

Birchstar hung his head. All hope is lost.

* * *

**(Birdkit's POV)**

"I have a sister named Liz, and another one named Penny."

Darkkit was telling Birdkit and Morningdust's kits about her old life as barn cats. Birdkit wasn't really listening; she was to worried about the battle against the dogs.

_But they're only dogs! No big whoop!_

_Yes, but if they were only dogs, the Clan would be back by now._

Birdkit huddled closer to Morningdust. In return, the queen licked the top of her head.

"It's ok, they'll be fine..."

Morningdust shared Birdkit's concern, yet Birdkit knew that she wouldn't admit it.

"- and we lived in a big, red barn! It was amazing," Darkkit finished.

"Cool," murmured Firekit.

"Hey Morningdust! Wanna tell us about your time in RiverClan?" Airkit suddenly asked. The queen shrugged. "Alright."

"I had two brothers; Lightkit and Frogkit. I had a sister, who was Minnowkit. Our father was the deeply respected deputy, Bluestorm. Our mother was Lilyfur."

"Hey, I know that name!" Leafkit squealed.

"Yeah! It's Lilac!" Airkit squealed in turn.

"Who the heck is Lilac?" Birdkit asked, but no one was listening. Morningdust's eyes flew wide.

"My mother? She's ok?" "Yup! She's great! She tells us the best stories!" Darkkit mewed.

Morningdust was lost in thought.

"Oh, this is grand," she whispered. "Mother is ok..."

"Continue the story!" Brightkit whined. Birdkit rolled her eyes.

Morningdust happily continued the story. "Then we turned warriors. Lilyfur was discovered as a mutant when I was an apprentice, and we were determined that we were not like her. Sadly, a couple moons later, Lightfoot was chased out of camp." She sighed sadly.

They were silent for a few moments. Then, a rustling sound scared them and the queen and her kits jumped up.

Then, out of the thorn barrier that protected the camp, the OddClan warriors streamed through.

Birdkit cried out, "They're here! They're back!" The kits started to celebrate, but Morningdust tensed and froze. Birdkit, who was celebrating, looked up and looked at the exhausted warriors. She gasped.

The warriors were bloody from nose to tail-tip. Long scratches and scars covered their pelts. Birchstar was carrying the body of Lightstep, Stonepelt was carrying a smoking-hot Sparkwhisker, Swiftblaze held Snakefang by the scruff and a Twoleg (obviously Nopaw) was holding Icepath in his huge, harmless pink paws.

_Great StarClan, did we really loose four warriors today?_

Morningdust collapsed into tears and howled as the OddClan warriors put the unmoving ones on the ground. She ran towards the body of her brother. "No, no, no..."

Birdkit was speechless. Snakefang; our bravest warrior? Sparkwhisker; the funny ginger tom who always helped those in need? Icepath; the one who let her sneak out of camp that wonderful day? All of them... Gone?

Splashpaw limped over to where Birdkit was standing, grief in his eyes. "It's ok, Birdkit. They didn't die."

"They didn't? You mean Lightstep didn't die after all?"

Her first friend rolled his eyes. "No, he... he did die. It's the others I'm talking about."

Birdkit nodded. "Ok," she murmured.

She looked at Birchstar. The leader had jumped up on the Ancient Oak for a Clan meeting. He stood up proudly and yelled, "OddClan! We have won!"

Whoops of glee rose from the crowd. Birchstar flicked his tail and the clearing went quiet.

"I would like to that this tom for helping us."

For the first time, Birdkit noticed a young, shy tom at the foot of the tree. She never saw him before.

The tom was large and ginger with black tabby stripes and yellow eyes. He shuffled his paws as the leader of OddClan mentioned him.

Morningdust voice rose. "Who is he? What did he do? Were you loosing?"

Birchstar raised his tail once more for silence. "His name is Tiger. We were loosing very badly, and he saved us from destruction. I think," he turned back towards the crowd, "that we should invite him into the Clan." Cheers met his words. Tiger looked at his paws. "If you let me, I'll be glad!"

Birchstar smiled. "Before the ceremony, Dawnwish, take Snakefang, Sparkwhisker and Icepath into the medicine den. They need rest." He then looked at the body of Lightstep, grief stricken. "His burial will be tomorrow morning, at dawn."

He took a breath. Did his eyes flicker to Birdkit as he did so? She wasn't quite sure. Birchstar continued. "By the name of Lightstep, I name my new deputy, hoping that he would approve my choice." He looked at the light, calm blue sky. "Fishleap, join me as my deputy, please?"

Fishleap nodded. "Of course."

The Clan chanted. "Fishleap! Fishleap!" Birdkit purred. Good choice, Birchstar!

"On with the ceremony." Birchstar spoke once the Clan was done chanting her name.

"Tiger, you may not quite know what the Clan life is, but I know that you would like to become a warrior. After what you have done to us, you deserve it." Tiger bowed his head.

"Thank you."

"Tiger, your new name is Tigerstrike. Thank you for your sacrifice," Birchstar murmured as he bounded off the tree to touch noses to the newly-named loner.

"Tigerstrike! Tigerstrike!" the warriors chanted. "Clan dismissed! get some rest!" Birchstar yowled and the Clan broke off into little groups, murmuring excitedly and congratulating Fishleap and Tigerstrike.

"I wonder what Tigerstrike did at the battle," Airkit murmured beside her. Birdkit silently agreed.

Birchstar padded over to Morningdust and the kits near the nursery. "So, was everything running smoothly here while we were gone?" the leader asked the queen.

She purred. "Couldn't have been better."

Brightkit jumped out of the nursery. "Tell us about the battle! What did Tigerstrike do?"

Birchstar paused, looked at Birdkit and sighed.

"Alright, listen closely..."

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**Dun dun dun!**

**I guess that you know what's going to happen most of next chapter... We'll find out what happened at the battle!**

**You guys are the best! Thanks for those reviews *wink wink* and Sparkwhisker plushies for everyone! Yay!**

**Till next time (aka less than a week :D)**

**\- Moony :)**


	16. Chapter 16: Tigerstrike's Victory

**NO WAY! 125 REVIEWS! I LOVE YOU GUYS!**

**I shall now give you a billion Fandollars and you can go buy anything you want in the Fanstore! *hands Fandollars to everybody***

**YEAH! WOOHOOOOO!**

**Anyway, I just wanted to say that I've been getting a LOT of OCs lately! I'm not going to lie; I love them! I will use them all, I guarantee, but it may not be for a while. I just think that it would be a little confusing if we had a new cat come in every single chapter...**

**... Back to the story!**

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**(Birchstar's POV)**

The kits looked at him with interest. He couldn't say no; they had the right to learn. It was just that he didn't want to be plunged back into those horrible memories.

"Alright," he sighed as the kits squealed in delight. "Here it goes..."

He explained everything in great detail. Well, almost everything. He left out the part were the spirit of Lightstep froze time and told him about his future task; protecting Birdkit. He didn't think that it would be wise for anybody to hear...

From the arrival of the second patrol to the part were he learned the dog could talk, the kits had his full attention. He purred. He had never seen those kits so quiet.

"... And the dog spoke, and it said that he could never die," Birchstar meowed. Firekit gasped. "No way! Dogs can't talk; they're too dumb!"

Birchstar shook his large, furry head. "This one is the father of all mutts, and it has lived for so long that it has learned how to speak our language." Birdkit's mouth was opened in wonder. "Woah..."

Darkkit pressed on. "If he was immortal, then how did you defeat him?"

Birchstar, dreading this moment, was plunged back into those memories.

* * *

**(The Memory in Birchstar's POV)**

Birchstar bowed his head in shame as he faced the bigger creature. He knew that there was nothing that he could do to help his Clan. He was their leader, and he had failed them.

His warriors were yowling weak words of encouragement from the sidelines. "Don't give up! We'll win this thing!" yowled a very tired Swiftblaze as a nervous Splashpaw pressed some cobwebs on his wounds.

But Eggclaw was the only one who was discouraged. "Guys... We all know how it's gonna end. We should... We should just give in." But no one really payed attention to him. They were all worried about the word of their leader.

But Birchstar was defeated. He could no longer do anything, not even to save his own life. He was exhausted, aching and discouraged. There was nothing else to do. Eggclaw was right.

Birchstar bowed his head and sank into a crouch position on the sandy forest floor. His warriors gasped in shock. "No! You can't! What about those cats back home...?"

Birchstar thought about the queen and the kits back at camp. _Birdkit_... He sighed. There was nothing he could do for them, or for her. One day, Morningdust would have to accept that her Clanmates were gone, and hopefully she would become Morning_star_ and rebuild the Clan with the help of new apprentices. He smiled as he thought of newly named Brightpaw, Firepaw, Petalpaw, Airpaw, Darkpaw, Leafpaw and Birdpaw, but he frowned as he thought that he would not be the one to give them their warrior names. He would watch them from StarClan, next to his reunited family.

His family... Well, at least when this was over with, he would be with his lost loved ones again. That was a happy thought...

His thoughts came back to earth as the beast in front of him growled. "You, cat, what is thy name?"

_Thy_ name? Who used that language anymore anyway? "Uh, B-Birchstar..." the leader stammered. The dog shrugged. "Weird name, but ok..." He turned back towards the crowd of injured cats.

"I have noticed that you cats live in a group, if I'm not mistaken... And this, Buhbirchstar, I think, is your leader. Am I correct?" He didn't even wait for an answer.

"Well, to show you that your little 'tribe' is finished for good, I will finish Buhbirchstar off."

Birchstar gasped in horror. This dog was going to kill him, just for an image? This death, he knew, was going to be painful and slow... He groaned. Eight times. He was going to die eight painful, agonizing deaths right in front of his Clanmates' eyes.

His Clanmates gasped. "No! Kill me instead!" the newly-woken Snakefang leaped up and limped towards the dog. The dog just stared, and when he was close enough, the beast batted him away with a single claw. Dripping from a new wound, the poisoned-toothed warrior fainted again, and a terrified Dawnwish whisked him away.

Birchstar blinked gratefully at his defensive Clanmates. "I'm sorry guys, but this is my fight. It's either me or all of us." The warriors nodded glumly.

Birchstar looked up at the scary canine. Drool was hanging from its jaws, and the leader of OddClan had to fight the urge of flinching and looking away.

"I'm ready." he mewed. Those were the last words he said.

The dog snarled. "Just before you die, tremble-cat, I want you to know what will become of your friends. They will become my slaves. They'll hunt for me, and so on. If one displeases me, then he or she shall be eaten for my supper." Birchstar gulped.

Then, the dog leapt onto Birchstar's back and the warriors on the sidelines screamed. Even though Birchstar was being crushed under the wild animal's weight, he did not even flinch. He knew that if he fought back, his battle-protect power would activate and it would take much longer for the dog to kill him. He wanted this to be over with.

Agony pierced his back, and Birchstar yowled in pain. Blood poured from his pelt for the first time in his life. _Protect my Clan,_ he prayed as he felt his neck snap in two between the dog's powerful jaws. With a final jerk, Birchstar felt darkness overwhelm him.

* * *

**(Back in present time, Birchstar's POV)**

Airkit gasped. "You died?"

Leafkit stared in wonder. "But how are you still here? Are you... A ghost?" She whimpered.

Darkkit screamed. "Run for your life! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Birchstar sighed as Brightkit giggled. "Nobody told you?" the little glow-in-the-dark she kit said. The newer kits shook their little heads in confusion. "Well, when cats become leaders, they get blessed by StarClan, our warrior ancestors. There is this secret little ceremony that only leaders and medicine cats know about. During the ceremony, however, they receive nine lives and their new suffix: star!"

Dawnwish's brother's kits oohed and aahed when Brightkit finished explaining. But an annoyed-looking Firekit grunted.

"Can we _please_ get back to the story?" he whined.

And without further ado, Birchstar continued the story.

* * *

**(Back to Birchstar's memory)**

He felt as though he was drowning in a dark lake.

There was no air, no light, no right way up. He couldn't tell where the surface of the thrashing water was. He tried to breathe, but it was no use. It was like he was drowning in the Moonpool all over again.

Then, up ahead, he saw a light. It grew bigger and bigger, and Birchstar suddenly was able to breathe again. The light now shone all around him, and he felt grass beneath his paws.

He was in a sparkling clearing. He recognized it as Fourtrees, a sacred place that existed a long, long time ago.

He then noticed some starry warriors sitting around him. Lightstep, Mistfur, Softkit, his parents and even Sparklefur and Shimmerpelt where there. A voice ran around the clearing, shining with all the voices of all the cats he had ever known.

"You lost another life."

Birchstar nodded. He thought so. After a moment or so, the OddClan leader whispered. "Send me back now."

Softkit pranced forward in a very kit-like way. "Not now, Daddy! You have to be patient, silly goose. Your body needs time to recover. It won't take long, I promise!" Birchstar's heart melted as his dead daughter spoke to him. _It won't be long, now_ he thought as he soon felt his presence leave the Fourtrees and back to the horrific real world.

He felt himself hit the ground. He could hear yowls of fury coming from his warriors. The dog standing on top of him grinned.

"Now that I killed your precious Buhbirchstar, you shall now-"

"Not so fast, flea-pelt," Birchstar muttered. The dog spun around and gasped in shock.

"W... What? I... I just killed you! How is this possible?"

Birchstar stood up shakily. "I am a leader with nine lives. You'll have to kill me many more times before I'm gone for good." he meowed. The beast growled in irritation. "Fun."

The canine walked towards Birchstar. "Make this quick," muttered Birchstar and the dog clamped his jaws around his neck.

"What the-"

Before the dog had crunched on his neck, a tom, a cat that Birchstar had never seen before, walked into the clearing. The tabby seemed as old as Vinepaw and Bigpaw; close to the end of apprenticeship.

The tom stared at the killing scene with terror that filled his eyes. The dog let go of Birchstar and faced the new arriver.

"What the heck i-is going on?" the tom mewed. The dog growled. "None of your business. Now go, unless you want the same fate as this bastard." He beckoned towards a panting Birchstar in the sand.

The new cat, a little freaked out by a talking dog, asked, "You... You guys are Clan cats, aren't you?" he mewed towards the crowd of terrified cats. Fishleap nodded, no words coming out.

The newcomer then growled as he faced the vicious dog in front of him. "Let them go," he muttered, "or you have me to answer to."

Birchstar groaned. "Don't... Save yourself..." But the tom took no notice.

He looked at the dog with a sudden bravery. "So?"

The canine snorted. "It'll all be over in a minute. Don't worry; I'll make your death nice and slow." "Bring it on."

The dog jumped on the tom, but the cat swiftly dodged out of the way. Birchstar scurried towards his Clanmates, determined to get out of the way. He sat beside Stonepelt who muttered, "He won't last a heartbeat."

"Go cat!" cheered Nopaw from the edge of the clearing. The others started to join in. "You can do this, awesome brave guy!"

As the cat dodged another swipe, he paused for a heartbeat. "The name's Tiger!"

"Go Tiger!" squeaked a terrified Vinepaw As the tabby ducked back into the fight.

The dog, tired from not getting a good hit, roared. "Fight me like a real opponent, coward!"

Tiger smiled and leaped into the air. As though in slow motion, his body started to change and take another form. And when he landed, he was no longer a cat, but a lion.

Birchstar and the others gasped. "He's a mutant!" Fishleap meowed. Birchstar made a mental note that if they survived this thing, then he should be invited into the Clan.

The dog suddenly looked scared as he faced the bigger beast. The lion whispered in Tiger's voice. "Are you gonna back down? If you do, let the Clan go!"

The wild beast growled. "Never." And he leaped at the lion.

Tiger the lion crashed into the dog and sent the canine rolling on the floor. Showing no mercy, Tiger slashed his long claws down the dog's flank. The beast howled in agony and Birchstar caught a glimpse of the wound. It was so deep, it seemed to have cut right through the ribs.

Why wasn't he dead, then? Then Birchstar realized what the had meant by 'immortal' before. No matter the wound, he couldn't die. Birchstar thought with bitterness that even if it lost its head, he would probably still be alive.

The dog roared in agony. He slowly got up, blood pouring from the wound in his side. "This isn't over!" he yowled as he limped back towards the forest, leaving a trail of red dots behind him.

Birchstar couldn't believe that it was over, nor could his companions. Tiger, now back in cat form, shakily walked over to them. Before the shape shifter could speak, Birchstar interrupted him. "T-thank you so much," he stammered. "For everything you did. But... But why did you try to save us?"

Tiger muttered, "I have my reasons. Something to do with a dream..." He shook his head. "Never mind."

A dream? Birchstar wondered. Maybe his dream had told him to join a Clan... _All the best,_ Birchstar thought. _We just lost a warrior and we'll need another one._

Birchstar smiled. "Would you like to join OddClan? We do need more warriors."

Tiger's eyes flew wide open. "Would I? Of course!" Birchstar grinned. "Come on, OddClan! Let's go back home!"

And Birchstar, feeling much happier, picked up Lightstep's body's by the scruff and they walked out of the clearing, the feeling of victory in the air.

* * *

**(Present Time in Birdkit's POV)**

Birdkit smiled. "So that's how Tigerstrike got into the Clan!" she meowed. "That's so cool!"

Petalkit nodded as Firekit spoke. "His power is so cool too! He can turn into lions!"

Birchstar purred. "Not only lions, but any other animal as well."

Darkkit wondered out loud. "So... He's a shape-shifter?" "Correct," mewed the leader of the Clan.

The kits were silent, off in their own thoughts. Birdkit was thinking about a happy thought. _He can shape-shift so that he looks like me... With wings... and he could teach me how to fly!_ she realized. _I want him as my mentor!_

Birchstar stood up. "Where are you going, Birchstar?" she mewed. He smiled and replied, "I just realized that I forgot to do something very important." He walked towards the Ancient Oak. He leaped on it at yowled, "All cats old enough to control their own power join underneath the Ancient Oak for a Clan meeting!"

Birdkit ran under the big tree to meet up with Nopaw and Splashpaw. Airkit and Leafkit followed her.

She could hear grumbling coming from the warrior's den. She turned her head to she Stonepelt and Fishleap crawling out of the den, looking very grumpy. "I just fell asleep!" moaned Stonepelt. "And now here we are again!" Fishleap nodded. "I was about to catch this really big fish..." Stonepelt rolled his eyes and muttered something about RiverClan's stinky fish as he bounded up next to Swiftblaze.

Once every cat was comfortable, Birchstar spoke. "Bigpaw, Vinepaw, come forward." The shaking apprentices were buzzing with excitement and Birdkit realized that they were going to become warriors!

"I, Birchstar, leader of OddClan, ask StarClan to look down on these two apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and not to mention that they fought bravely in the Battle of the Dogs." Murmurs of approval flooded through the crowd. Birchstar continued.

"I wish them as warriors in turn." He took a breath. "Bigpaw, Vinepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," meowed Bigpaw.

"I do," echoed his sister.

Birchstar smiled. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names."

"Bigpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Bigclaw. StarClan honours your courage and your strength, and we welcome you as a full warrior of OddClan." Bigclaw stepped forwards as Birchstar nuzzled this head with his nose. Bigclaw licked the leader's shoulder in gratitude.

And just to show that he knew how to control his power, the newest warrior started to grow, and grow, and grow... Until he was as big as the Ancient Oak. Somebody whooped in the crowd, and everybody started to cheer as the huge warrior began to shrink to his normal size. Birdkit saw Tigerstrike's eyes huge, and she saw Eggclaw look on in jealousy.

Birchstar raised his tail for silence. Then he continued the ceremony. "Vinepaw?"

Vinepaw nodded, ready to show off her power. She scanned the crowd and her eyes locked into Birdkit's. Why was Vinepaw staring at her?

Vinepaw dug her claws into the ground, still looking at Birdkit. Suddenly, Birdkit felt a lurch as her paws left the ground. She went up, up, up...

She felt like screaming. Vinepaw's vines were locked around her paws. Birdkit breathed in and out, trying to calm herself.

But then she realized that if she wanted to fly one day, she shouldn't be afraid of heights! So she slowly opened her eyes and looked down.

What she saw was amazing. She was even higher that the Ancient Oak, and all the cats below her looked like tiny black pebbles. She heard cheering.

Birdkit opened her wings and let the wind ruffle her fur. This felt great- no, this felt wonderful!

Sadly, after a couple minutes, she felt the vines bring her back to the ground.

When her paws touched the ground, the cats started to cheer for Vinepaw and Birdkit. She smiled and Splashpaw rushed over to her. "Are you hurt? Are you ok?" her fretting friend asked her.

Birdkit purred. "I'm fine. It was great! I felt so free..." Splashpaw shrugged and sat back down as Birchstar continued.

"That was amazing, Vinepaw. Thank you." Vinepaw bowed her head respectfully and sadness clouded her eyes. Birdkit wondered why, and then she realized that Lightstep was her mentor and that he taught her how to do it. Birdkit thought grimly that his death should never have hapenned, and that he should be sitting amongst his other Clanmates as he watches, with pride, his apprentice become a warrior.

Birchstar smiled. "It's ok, he's watching you from StarClan." He smiled as more memories clouded his eyes. Then he continued. "Vinepaw, from this moment on you shall be known and Vinecloud. StarClan honours your intelligence and enthusiasm, and we welcome you as a full warrior of OddClan."

Vinecloud shone brightly next to her brother as the Clan yowled their names. "Bigclaw! Vinecloud! Bigclaw! Vinecloud!" Birdkit purred as she watched her friends stand up tall as the warriors cheered their names.

Birdkit smiled. "One day, that will be me," she muttered as Morningdust whisked the kits off to the nursery for a good night's sleep.

* * *

**Yeah! Chappy 16 is finito!**

**Hope you liked it (I know I did :D)**

**All reviewers get a Tigerstrike plushie! YEAH!**

**By the way, Birdkit may or may not become an apprentice next chapter... :P**

**R&amp;R,  
**

**-Moony**

**Ps: Who is your favourite kit? Brightkit, Firekit, Petalkit, Airkit, Darkkit or Leafkit? Send me your answer!**


	17. Chapter 17: Apprentice's Dream

**Hello! I'm back (again)!**

**This chapter takes place 4 moons after the last one. **

**Oh, and here are a couple shout-outs about chapter 16 (18):**

**SilverfeatherSnowstream:**** Really? You think my writing's good? Aww thanks...**

**Snowsong of SnowClan:**** Me too! :)**

**Kikidusk:**** I like him too!**

**kikidusk:**** Well that was rude. I don't care if she was in other fanfics. And I'm not killing her off!**

**Poppywhisker:**** Ah... Good question! You'll see :)**

**emeralla:**** Nice! I'll use her.**

**Guest: As I said before, I don't care about nasty comments. This is a fanfic, not a totally-realisticfic! Go and ruin somebody else's day.**

**Disclaimer - I do not own warriors! I wish I did...**

* * *

**(Birdkit's POV)**

"Feel my claws, Evilstar!"

Birdkit was play-fighting with Firekit, Brightkit and Petalkit. Airkit, Darkkit and Leafkit were watching nearby. _They had really matured these past four moons_, Birdkit remarked.

A lot had changed since the Battle of the Dogs. Patrols now ran differently; there has to have at least three warriors on a patrol, and there hasn't been a Mutant patrol since. Birdkit sighed at the thought of all those cats who had lost their lives trying to escape from the other, perfect Clans.

Even some cats had changed, not that it was a bad thing, of course. Petalkit had figured out what her power was: the power of nature. She can grow things, and wilt things, and definitely make Vinecloud jealous! "She can control anything, and I'm stuck with vines!" the warrior whined.

And talking about the warriors, life had become a huge pain in the tail now that Bigpaw- euh, Big_claw_, became a warrior. He patrolled the camp as though he was deputy. He made everybody really annoyed, even his sister.

She felt sheathed claws hit her face and she tumbled. She heard Firekit giggle. "We're in the middle of a battle, Birdbrain!" he purred as Birdkit pushed herself back up, spitting out a mouthful of dirt. "Ew!"

She heard pawsteps behind her and she turned around. The gang of old barn kits came rushing over.

"Are you ok?" gasped Leafkit. "Should I call Splashnose?" Splashnose had gotten his full medicine cat name about two moons ago. The only apprentice left was Nopaw.

In response to Leafkit's question, Birdkit shook her head. "No. Oh, and Firekit," she added to the feisty tom, "Don't call me Evilstar! Or I'll call you... Dirtstar!"

Firekit growled and lunged back on top of her. She was prepaired this time, and she batted him away with a flick of her wing. He fell to the ground with a thump. "Evilstar wins!" she yowled in victory. Airkit giggled as Firekit stood up and grumbled something about fox-dung. He stalked off back into the nursery.

Petalkit scampered forward. "He's a sore loser. He beat every kit here, except you! Mind you, I wonder why he's go grumpy lately," she wondered.

Darkkit shrugged. "I know why. He really admired Lightstep, but when he died..." She sighed. "I think he wanted Lightstep to be his mentor."

Brightkit nodded. "That explained a lot."

To change the subject, Birdkit mewed. "How come you guys aren't apprentices yet? Aren't you like... Seven moons now?" Birdkit was almost six moons old; and she still wanted Tigerstrike to be her mentor.

She never talked to Tigerstrike (partially because he was shy), but she knew for a fact that he had been a ThunderClan cat as birth, under the name of Tigerkit. He had escaped from his birth Clan because of what he thought they would do to mutants like him. He taught himself how to hunt and fight, and he changed his name to Tiger by the time he became of apprentice age. Birdkit admired him.

Leafkit answered the question. "We came into the Clan a little late, remember? Well, Birchstar thought that we should get to know the Clan a little more before we become apprentices. Anyway, we should get our apprentice names any day now. You too, Birdkit!"

Birdkit's heart soared. She was excited already. Then she heard Fishleap call for the dawn patrols. "Icepath, take Snakefang, Sparkwhisker, Bigclaw and Nopaw on a hunting patrol. Go near the Dog's Battle clearing, but don't go _in_ it. Just in case," she finished.

"Move out of the way kits, warrior coming through," growled a bossy Bigclaw a he strut through the kit's playing area. "Hey!" squeaked Petalkit.

Bigclaw stuck his nose into the air proudly. "You must listen to your warriors." and he stalked off.

When his back was turned, Birdkit muttered. "Arrogant toad. Who died and made you leader?" Brightkit snorted and Airkit giggled.

Before the patrol left, Birchstar bounded out of his den under the Ancient Oak and yelled, "Wait! There is something I must say... And do!"

He called the familiar call and the rest of the Clan joined the kits under neath the Ancient Oak.

Birchstar cleared his throat and started to speak. "We do not have many apprentices left. Actually, we only have one!" He beckoned to a smiling Nopaw who was sitting next to his mentor, Eggclaw. The leader continued.

"I think we need to make more apprentices, so that we can have even more warriors! Airkit, Darkkit, Leafkit and Birdkit, step forward."

Birdkit couldn't believe her ears. An apprentice! She was going to be an apprentice! She wondered who her mentor would be. She hoped that Birchstar would give her a good one.

"By naming apprentices, we show that OddClan is strong. Darkkit, you are now Darkpaw. Clearmist, you are Darkpaw's mentor." The two cats touched noses, then stepped back. "Clearmist," he addressed to his daughter, "You are a skilled warrior and a great hunter. Pass your invisibility techniques to Darkpaw." The warrior bowed her head.

"Airkit, Your mentor shall be Swiftblaze. You are now known as Airpaw." Squirming with excitement, she leapt enthusiastically at Swiftblaze, pushing her nose eagerly into his. "Woah, calm down!" he purred as he touched noses with his new apprentice. Birdkit stifled a purr. Her friend's love for the fast warrior was no secret. "Swiftblaze. You joined the Clan as a warrior, and yet I am impressed how much you improved. Pass those good qualities onto Airpaw."

"Leafkit, your new name is Leafpaw. I know how much you wanted to be a medicine cat, but sadly there are no spots left." Birdkit blinked in surprise. Leafpaw wanted to be a medicine cat, and she never noticed? She returned her attention to Birchstar. "...so I give you the joy of being Fishleap's apprentice. Hopefully, she will change your mind about being a healer cat." Birdkit gasped. Leafpaw got the deputy! "Lucky!" she muttered as the two cats touched noses and stepped away.

Finally, it was her turn.

"Birdkit." Birdkit gulped and stepped forward. She faced the sea of cats and stared at their friendly faces. _Who will mentor me?_ she thought shakily.

"Birdkit, You shall now be known as Birdpaw." Birdpaw smiled at her new name.

"Your mentor shall be..." Birchstar searched through the cat faces seated below them. "Tigerstrike." The newest warrior's eyes widened with shock. "M-me?" he stuttered.

Birdpaw felt her heart soar with joy. Yes! Tigerstrike is her mentor! She leapt up shakily to touch noses with the surprised warrior. She felt herself shaking nervously. "It's ok, your doing fine," the shape-shifting warrior muttered in her ear. She smiled again.

Birchstar continued. "Tigerstrike, you have only been here for four moons, but you have proven your loyalty right from the start. I shall give you this apprentice, and teach her the bravery that you have taught us." Tigerstrike dipped his head.

"Airpaw! Darkpaw! Leafpaw! Birdpaw!" the Clan cheered. Birdpaw stood up proudly as the Clan chanted her new name. Then, the crowd broke up into groups and the dawn patrol left.

Firekit, Brightkit and Petalkit rushed over to the new apprentices. "Good job!" squeaked Petalkit. "I bet that with Tigerstrike as a mentor, you'll be a way better fighter than Firekit!" Birdpaw purred and Firekit growled. "Hey!"

Morningdust padded over to the kits. "Congratulations," she purred. Birdpaw felt her heart break. She now slept in the apprentice's den, not the nursery! She will never sleep next to Morningdust's warm body again! She will miss the days of sleeping next to her adoption mother. "I'm going to miss sleeping with you," she muttered to the queen.

Morningdust purred again. "It's ok, we'll sleep next to each other soon!" Birdpaw gasped "Really? When?!"

"When you become a warrior, you'll be in the warriors den. I'll be there too!" Birdpaw realized that Morningdust wouldn't stay in the nursery forever, and that she'll eventually move in back as a warrior. Birdpaw smiled at the thought.

"Oh!" Morningdust suddenly exclaimed and the four new apprentices jumped. "I think that your mentors want to start your training!" Birdpaw looked around and sure enough, Clearmist, Swiftblaze, Fishleap and Tigerstrike were waiting for them by the entrance of the camp. Birdpaw scooted towards them, with the former barn cats behind her. "Have fun!" called Morningdust as she walked back towards the nursery. Her three kits followed, complaining about why they can't be apprentices. "Birdpaw is one! Why can't I be?" whined the annoying Firekit, Birdpaw purred.

"Hello? Birdpaw? Did you even hear what I just said?" growled Fishleap. Birdpaw turned her head back towards what she was supposed to be doing.

"As I was saying..." the deputy continued. "We shall split up into two patrols and we shall explore the territory. Clearmist and Tigerstrike, take your apprentices towards the pine forest, to the west. Swiftblaze, your with me. We'll go to the Longriver. Just show the apprentices the territory, but we won't say no to a bit of prey." And with that, Fishleap, Swiftblaze, Darkpaw and Leafpaw left. Clearmist beckoned their patrol that it was time to leave, and they set out towards the trees.

Birdpaw was determined to be the best apprentice the Clan had ever seen.

* * *

**(Cloudclaw's POV)**

"All cats old enough to run straight across the moor join us underneath the Smallhill for a WindClan meeting!"

Treestar's yowl ran across the camp. Cloudclaw was already seated at the front of the crowd next to his mate, Specklefur. He glowed with pride; his kits, Ashkit and Branchkit were about to become apprentices.

Once every cat was seated, Treestar commenced. "Today we are gathered here to make two kits apprentices. With Leafbare on its way, we need as many warriors as we can. So I invite Ashkit and Branchkit to step forward."

Cloudclaw saw his kits shivering with excitement. "Ashkit and Branchkit, you are now Ashpaw and Branchpaw." Ashpaw squeaked in excitement and Branchkit lifted his nose proudly into the air at the sound of their new names.

"Pinkheart, you shall mentor Ashpaw. You had a great mentor in Moorpelt, and I hope that you pass on the good qualities he taught you onto your apprentice." Pinkheart touch noses with the over-excited Ashpaw and Cloudclaw held back a purr.

"Boulderfur! Your time has come to choose an apprentice. You shall mentor Branchpaw." The cats touched noses. "Your mentor was Specklefur. Pass on your bravery to him." Boulderfur dipped his head.

"Ashpaw! Branchpaw!Ashpaw! Branchpaw!" the Clan cheered. Cloudclaw and Specklefur chanted the loudest of all

Cloudclaw let out the purr. He liked the mentors that Treestar gave his children. They would grow up big and strong. _Birdkit wouldn't survive,_ he thought bitterly of his dead mutant daughter. He never told Ashpaw and Branchpaw about their long-lost sibling. _Not that it matters. It's for their own good._

Specklefur pressed her body closer to his. Cloudclaw guessed that she was thinking about the same thing. "It's ok, what's done is done. We wouldn't have wanted her anyway." Specklefur nodded.

Cloudclaw then remembered what Snakefang had said at the Gathering, all those moons ago. "_The mutants will survive!"_ he had yelled.

Cloudclaw snickered. _No way will that happen,_ he retorted.

* * *

**Not to exciting but whatever. Hope ya liked it!**

**Uhh, I'm giving out Bigclaw plushies. Review if you want one! Just review anyway!**

**\- Moonyshiny**

**Ps: Today is my birthday. :)**


	18. Chapter 18: Secrets

**(Birdpaw's POV)**

Birdpaw just came back from her patrol with Tigerstrike, Clearmist and Darkpaw. She had seen so much that her eyes were hurting! She felt asleep on her own paws.

"You look tired," Clearmist murmured to the two apprentices. "Go get something to eat, then go to sleep. You deserve it."

Birdpaw yawned and rushed to the fresh-kill pile. Airpaw and Leafpaw were already there, and they looked tired too.

Birdpaw chose a squirrel from the fresh-kill pile and Darkpaw chose a shrew. They sat next to their friends and started to eat.

"Anyone wanna share?" muttered Birdpaw behind a mouthful of food. Airpaw got up and sat next to her.

They didn't talk much; all they wanted to do was sleep. So when they were done their meals, they crawled into the apprentice's den for a nice, long sleep.

The apprentice's den was a lot bigger than Birdpaw had imagined. She chose a nice fluffy nest in the middle of the den that still smelled a little like Vinecloud. Airpaw and Leafpaw lay down next to her, and were soon snoring. Darkpaw slept somewhere in the corner, but Birdpaw didn't know where. As she knew, Darkpaw was invisible in the shadows, and Birdpaw had to be careful not to step into the occupied nest.

No matter how tired she felt, she was not able to fall asleep. She tossed and turned, but Birdpaw's eyes did not close. She sat up and started to groom herself, thinking about what she would do the next day. _Will Tigerstrike teach me how to hunt? Or maybe how to fight?_

Birdpaw sighed and padded out of the den, carefully not treading on Airpaw's tail. She trotted outside, blinking away the dusk light. She scanned around the camp.

She saw Fishleap and Birchstar at the foot of the Ancient Oak, sharing tongues about what happened that day. A little way off, Icepath and Sparkwhisker were play-fighting, and Petalkit, Stonepelt and Snakefang were watching with amusement. Splashnose sat a little way off, looking anxious and collecting herbs. Birdpaw rolled her eyes. _That tom worries to much!_ she thought.

On the other side of the clearing near the fresh-kill pile, Clearmist and Tigerstrike were sharing a rabbit and comparing apprentices. Even though she knew that they were doing nothing wrong, Birdpaw felt a growl fighting to her throat. She stopped herself immediately and shook her head in confusion. What the heck? What was that all about? All they were doing was talking! But Birdpaw felt some weird feeling at the bottom of her stomach as she watched the two warriors chat. Was it jealousy? She shook the feeling out of her head and she padded on. She wasn't jealous, why would she be jealous of talking cats?

She moved on. She decided to go back to her den. She made her way to the nursery, and stopped herself again. She giggled. "Silly me, I'm an apprentice now!" she purred out loud.

But as she turned around to stalk back off, she heard two kits arguing about something. She turned her head and saw Brightkit and Firekit bickering about something. She strained her ears to listen and pretended to watch the Icepath and Sparkwhisker battle.

"... No way! I'm going to tell him right now!" That was Firekit, yelling in glee.

Birdpaw heard Brightkit growl. "You better not. You promised that you wouldn't tell anybody!"

The ginger tom snorted. "Yeah, but this is too funny to hold in!" He started to chant. "Brightkit's in love with Bigcl-"

"SHUSH!" Brightkit scream and she slapped her tail over his open mouth. Birdpaw held in a snicker. Brightkit liked Bigclaw! _Well, she_ is_ the only one who tolerates him..._

Firekit pulled his face away. "Your kits should be named Brigkit, because it's a mixture of both of your names!"

Brightkit growled again. "Shut up, Firebutt! _And_ It's a stupid name!"

"Hey! Don't call me Firebutt or I'll call you Brightfart!"

Brightkit snickered. "If you do, then I'll tell Birdpaw about your little crush..."

Birdpaw's eyes widened. Firekit... liked her?

Firekit gasped. "Please don't tell her! I won't tell Bigclaw if you don't tell Birdpaw!"

Brightkit snorted. "We have a deel, bro."

Birdpaw had heard enough. She ran back into the apprentices den, now fully awake. She kept thinking of Firekit...

After a couple minutes, Nopaw limped in to the den. "You stole my spot, Leafpaw!" he purred as he settled down next to her.

Birdpaw lifted her head. "Why are you limping? Was Eggclaw to fierce in battle practice?"

Nopaw shook his head, embarrassed. "I have a thorn stuck in my pad, and I can't get it out. It hurts!"

Birdpaw rolled her eyes. "Alright, mousebrain. I'll help you get it out."

"Thanks."

Birdpaw pulled out the thorn, and Nopaw yowled. "Great StarClan, that hurt more than I thought!" he gasped as Bidpaw rolled her eyes playfully.

A noise came from the corner of the den. "Some of us are trying to sleep." Darkpaw's voice muttered as in fell back into snores.

Birdpaw giggled. "Your warrior name should be Nobrain!" she whispered. Nopaw frowned. "Birdbrain yourself".

She snorted. "You wish."

They silently play-fought in the two beds of moss until they saw the sun disappear behind the trees.

Birdpaw flopped back on her bed of moss as Nopaw looked anxiously outside at the fading rays of sunshine. "Urg, I'm going to the Dirtplace to-"

Birdpaw stopped him in mid sentence. "Woah, hold your breath. It's not exactly a secret; you seem to sneak out of camp every single night. What are you doing?"

Nopaw looked confused. "Um, I don't sneak out at night... I think that Twolegs have some sort of problem. I pretty much stay there like, half the night, trying to feel better. I... I should go. See ya in the morning." Without another word, he was off.

Birdpaw frowned. _Well, I don't _feel_ very tired..._

And with that, Birdpaw quietly crept out of the den and secretly followed Nopaw.

* * *

**(Nopaw's POV)**

Nopaw padded over towards the Dirtplace. The horrible stench of dung wafted over him, and he tried not to think about it.

He stood in the Dirtplace and turned around, making sure that nobody was following him. He thought he saw a bush rustle, but it was just the wind. Just to make sure, he opened his mouth and tasted the air. All that he could get was the scent of dirt and Birdpaw.

_Birdpaw?_

Nopaw sighed. "Birdpaw!" he called out playfully. But she did not appear. Narrowing his eyes, he sniffed his own pelt. Birdpaw's scent was still on it. Nopaw bit back a purr and he squeezed through a secret escape in the bramble walls.

Nopaw broke into a run as soon as he was far away from camp. _I'm already late! _he meowed in his head.

Suddenly, Nopaw rushed into a rock. It was pretty small, about the size of a rat, but it hurt enough for Nopaw to yowl in surprise.

He heard the ferns rustle and his mentor Eggclaw popped out. Nopaw hung his head in shame.

"What are you doing, running around the forest at night? I thought you promised me that you'd never go back!" Nopaw whimpered. Two moons ago, Eggclaw noticed his tiredness and he was forced to tell him his secret. The answer his mentor, Nopaw replied, "I know, I'm sorry, but you know that I can't!" he ended in a whine.

"Hush! Keep your voice down! Alright, you can go tonight, but please don't tomorrow. I'm thinking of doing your warrior assessment in two days, and I want you well rested." Nopaw brightened in delight. "Alright! Thanks!" And he sprinted off.

A couple minutes later, Nopaw reached the edge of the forest. He could see the lights of Twoleg lighttrees (lamposts) shining through the trees. _I'm here!  
_

The young tom transformed into a Twoleg and stood up, brushing the dirt off of his pelts with a large pink paw. He sighed, then walked into the Twolegplace.

The metallic sounds of the monsters and the noisiness coming from the Twoleg dens seemed to blind him for a moment. When his vision cleared, he immediately noticed a pretty Twoleg female sitting on what he knew was a 'bench' near the edge of the forest. _There she is._

She was sitting there, looking bored. She pulled out a small box and she pushed a button on it. The screen glowed, and Nopaw's eyes widened. _Twoleg technology is truly amazing! _he thought as he remembered that it was called a 'phone'.

Nopaw snook behind the Twoleg on the bench. When he was close enough, he poked her with one of his Twoleg fingers and yelled, "Blaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

She screamed and turned around. When she saw who it was, she relaxed. "Benny! I thought I told you never to scare me like that!"

Nopaw giggled. As a Twoleg, he used his old loner's name. "Hello, Jessica." he said, still laughing. He sat on the bench next to her.

Twoleg Jessica frowned. "You were late again!" Nopaw half-smiled. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Jessica laughed. "I'm not your mother! You don't have to do that, you know." Nopaw sat up straighter. Truthfully, he had no idea ho to act around a Twoleg. He had been meeting with her in secret for almost six moons now, rain and snow, but he still didn't know how to act around them! His warrior name should be 'Noclue'.

She snorted. "You are weird. Yet I like that." She lay her head down on Nopaw's lap and she looked up at the stars. Nopaw did that too.

The Twoleg cat wondered as he gazed up at the shinning Silverpelt. _Oh StarClan,_ he prayed. _I know what I'm doing is wrong, and I ask your forgiveness._ The stars shone brightly in response, as though forgiving him. _What is my destiny? Is it my destiny to be a Twoleg, or a cat? I love Jessica, and you know it. But Birdpaw has stolen my heart as well! My loyalty is like a maze. Please help me find my way out and on the right track._

He stroked the Twolegs soft brown hair. He could swear that he heard a faint voice in the calm breeze, whispering _Your destiny is yours to decide._

Jessica sighed. "Tell me something, Benny. You don't talk much." Nopaw smiled. _You should see me back at camp. They tell me to stop talking!_

"What do you want me to tell you?"

"I don't know, just some old tale or something."

"..."

Nopaw didn't know what to say. All the old stories he knew came from the Clans! _The Clans..._

_Should I?_

Suddenly, Nopaw felt himself talk about ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan and ShadowClan. "Long, long ago, there was a lake. Around that lake, there were four Clans. ThunderClan, ShadowClan, RiverClan and WindClan. They each occupied a designated space of land."

Jessica was suddenly interested. "A lake is pretty small. _Four_ Clans full of people would never fit."

Nopaw smiled. "Oh, of course not. But these Clans were not people. They were cats."

Jessica gasped as Nopaw told her about hunting and fighting for the more young and old. "These warriors were loyal, and they would do anything for their friends."

Jessica's eyes grew wide. "Wow... Cats. They act like a family, even though they are not." Nopaw nodded.

He looked up, and so did Jessica. "They believed that their warrior ancestors, StarClan, would guild and protect them until every cat's last step. You can see the dead cats every night, when the sky is black."

Jessica smiled. "I liked that story." She looked at something wrapped around her wrist, and she gasped. "I'm sorry, I have to go! Tomorrow, same time, same place?"

Nopaw shook his head, remembering his promise to Eggclaw. "I can't tomorrow. Maybe next week?" He was determined to catch up on sleep. But Jessica frowned. "That's not soon enough, but alright. See you then."

She got up, but before she left, she hugged Nopaw tightly. The Twoleg cat felt himself redden with embarrassment. "I'll miss you." he murmured before he lady Twoleg stalked away.

Nopaw walked back into the forest and transformed back into the camp. Silently, he padded back towards the camp, thinking to himself.

_Which destiny should I chose?_

* * *

**(Birdpaw's POV)**

Birdpaw ran back to camp, as silently and as fast as she could. She wanted to be back in her nest by the time Nopaw got back.

She could not believe what she just saw. Nopaw, in his Twoleg form, had hung out with another Twoleg! She found it hard to believe that her best friend would do that. She knew that she should tell Birchstar about this, just like what a loyal warrior would do.

But she loved Nopaw (as a friend of course). She she was worrying so much about what would happen if she told the leader about her friend's nighttime journeys to the Twolegplace.

As she curled up in a soft bed of moss, she decided that she would be loyal to her friend, and not give away his secret.

_Some secrets are better left hidden._

* * *

**This chapter was dedicated to my friend Jessica, the creator of Nopaw.**

**Thanks for R&amp;R-ing!**

**\- Moony moony moon moon shiny shiny shine shine**


	19. Chapter 19: Snow and Moss

**I'm sorry it took such a long time! I am studying for my final exams, and I obviously don't want to get a bad mark...**

**Wead my stowy! Fank you to everypeoples who did!**

* * *

**(Birdpaw's POV)**

Birdpaw trotted into camp, utterly exhausted. Today, she had seen the other half of OddClan's territory. She never knew that the territory was so big, or that training was so tiring. She yawned and joined Airpaw at the fresh-kill pile, picking a mouse for herself.

"How was your day?" the winged apprentice asked her friend.

Airpaw shrugged. "So so. The funnest part of the tour was when Darkpaw fell into the stream, and Fishleap had to get her out!"

"Well that sounded fun. Leafpaw is to quiet!" Birdpaw complained.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just _trying to pay attention to what our mentors were trying to teach us!" _A snort from behind Birdpaw told her that she had spoken too loudly. "Sorry Leafpaw," Birdpaw muttered as Airpaw giggled.

The new apprentices talked about their day until Birchstar called the Clan again. Birdpaw abandoned her prey and joined the others under the Ancient Oak.

"It is my greatest pleasure to name new warriors. Tonight, Nopaw will be sleeping in the warrior's den."

Birdpaw gasped. She had completely forgotten about how old her best friend was! Her heart sank when she realized that they would never be close again for another six moons. _Well, he wasn't close to me anyway. He looked like he liked that Twoleg._

Birdpaw was unable to stop thinking about what she had witnessed Nopaw do, two nights ago. She vowed to keep the secret, but she knew that it couldn't be like that forever.

Birdpaw watched with fascination as Nopaw demonstrated his powers. The Clan yowled in happiness for the soon-to-be-warrior. Birchstar cleared his throat.

"Nopaw, you were once a loner. Today you are an OddClan warrior. You have come a long way, and I am proud of you." Nopaw dipped his head, embarassed at the leader's praise.

"By the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Nopaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Nofur. StarClan honours your bravery and your strength, and we welcome you as a full warrior of OddClan." Birchstar nuzzled Nofur as the Clan chanted the new warrior's name. "Nofur! Nofur!"

Birdpaw purred for her best friend as the crowd broke up. Splashnose padded up to her once they were alone.

"So, how did your tour go?" "It was fine, but I'm just so tired!" She yawned. "I never knew that our territory could be so big... I'm going to get lost at some point."

Splashnose purred, and he made a little water puddle by the winged apprentice's feet. "Drink up. You look thirsty." As she lapped up the water gratefully, Dawnwish called the young tom back to the medicine den and he had to go.

"So you later," he mewed and sped off. Birdpaw watched the grey tom run off. She sighed and padded towards the apprentice's den for a good night's sleep.

Nobody was visible in the den, but Birdpaw could hear Darkpaw's gentle snores coming from the corner. She settled down in her nest and thought about the toms.

She felt torn. She loved all her friends. _Splashnose is awesome, but he's a medicine cat... And Nofur - Well, I can't look at him the same since I saw him with that Twoleg. Firekit is, well, not quite my type, but he's ok, I guess. And Tigerstrike is my mentor, and he's way older that me!_

Birdpaw sighed and shook her head. "I can't believe that I'm already thinking about having a mate!" she whispered to herself. She tucked her wings closer to her sides (since Leaf-bare was on its way) and she closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to come.

* * *

Boom!

Something crashed into Birdpaw and she woke up with a start. "Hey! I was trying to-" "C'mon! C'mon! Let's go outside!"

Birdpaw rolled her sleepy eyes. Airpaw had obviously woken her up again. She got up and stretched her wings, hitting Leafpaw in the process. Before the light cat could get angry, Birdpaw sprinted out of the den.

As soon as she stepped out of the nest, her eyes widened with shock. There were little white things everywhere! The Ancient Oak's leaves were covered in shiny white fluff, and a blanket of pale grey covered the camp. Airpaw was already flying through the air, attempting to catch the little things, which were slowly falling from the sky.

Birdpaw didn't think that they looked dangerous, but she cautiously poked it with a paw anyway. The fluff was cold and soft. She shook her pelt and hopped into it.

She gasped. She was up to her belly in the substance! She tried to hop out of it, but her legs were to stiff from sleep. She cried out for help.

Fishleap and Clearmist poked their heads out of the warrior's den to see what happened. They took one look at the white substance and they smiled. They looked at Birdpaw, grins on their faces. To her disappointment, they turned around and went back to bed, chuckling.

Birdpaw looked from side to side, frantically trying to get out of the seeming-harmless fluff. She then felt something grab her neck and pull her out. The cat brought her under the Ancient Oak, where the fluff was less thick.

Birdpaw turned around to say thank you, but the cat that stood before her wasn't one she recognized. The cat was a white and light grey tabby with icy-blue eyes. It looked a bit like Icepath, but she knew that it wasn't him.

The cat, seeing Birdpaw's confusion, purred. "That stuff is called snow."

Birdpaw relaxed. She knew who this was! It was Morningdust, her powers showing off for the first time. "Thanks for helping me out of that- what was it called? Smew?"

Morningdust chuckled. "Snow, darling. Every leaf-bare, tiny little snowflakes fall from the clouds and cover the land and trees. One day, in the middle of leaf-bare, There will be so much snow that we might have to stay in our dens for a couple of days." Birdpaw's eyes widened.

"Ahh, this is my type of weather." Morningdust and Birdpaw turned their heads around to see Icepath beaming as he padded out of the warrior's den. The young warrior jumped straight into the snow without hesitation. The snow only came up to his legs, since he was much bigger that Birdpaw. Birdpaw watched with awe as she saw Icepath's tabby white fur loose all his stripes and turn a fluffy pure white colour, like the snow.

Sparkwhisker padded outside after his brother. "Urgh, snow. I guess leaf-bare has started." He placed his ginger paw on the snow in front of him and it melted right before their eyes. Sparkwhisker made a path that led straight to the fresh-kill pile. Icepath eyed his brother with disgust.

Morningdust purred. "Oh, brothers. They are so close, yet so different..." Birdpaw nodded and smiled.

Sparkwhisker chose a mouse from the pile and melted a path that led straight to the Ancient Oak, where the two she-cats were seated.

"Hey there!" the flame-coloured warrior said happily. "Nice weather out, isn't it?" He purred. "For Icepath, anyway."

Icepath raced through the snow as easily as if he were running. "Yeah, well I _was_ named Coldkit at birth, wasn't I, _Hotkit_?" the warrior growled mockingly.

Birdpaw couldn't help but purr. "Coldkit and Hotkit? Who were your parents? Why did they give you a name like that?"

Icepath rolled his eyes. "My mother was Dewflower of ShadowClan. She named us Hotkit and Coldkit after out father, Heatstep. It had nothing to do with our powers." he said grumpily.

Sparkwhisker sighed. "You're such a grump today." Icepath dipped his head. "Thank you, I try so hard."

Before long, the two toms tussled in the snow. Wherever Sparkwhisker rolled, the snow melted. Soon, they were rolling all over camp, and to the joy of many cats watching, they cleared away the snow.

"Birdpaw! Time for training!" Birdpaw heard her mentor call from the fresh-kill pile. She said her goodbyes to Morningdust and she scampered towards her mentor.

"Eat some food, then meet me at the entrance to the camp." Tigerstrike mewed shyly, then stalked off. It was only then when Birdpaw realized she wasn't breathing. She took a gulp of air and cursed herself. Why did she have to be so awkward around Tigerstrike?

She shared a big thrush with her friend Airpaw. "What do you think you are going to do today?" she asked curiously.

Airpaw shrugged. "Swiftblaze will probably teach me how to stalk prey through this snow." Birdpaw eyes widened. "You already know how to hunt? Lucky!"

Airpaw shook her head. "Naw, he'll teach me today, I'm sure." And with that, she ran off.

Birdpaw finished the thrush and she padded over to the entrance of the camp. Tigerstrike was already waiting for her.

"C'mon! There's something I want to show you!" the young warrior meowed as the bounded into the snowy forest. Birdpaw had no choice but to follow him.

"The snow is less thick in this part of the forest," Tigerstrike pointed out as they reach the small clearing. There was a very faint smell of dog here, and Birdpaw shivered, not just from the cold.

"It's ok, it's abandoned. No dogs have been here for a while." But Tigerstrike seemed a little uneasy. Birdpaw crept over to him. "What is it?"

Tigerstrike sighed. "I'll tell you one day, but not yet. Today, we shall do something very fun!"

Birdpaw squeaked in delight. "What? Will we practice hunting? Fighting? Climbing trees? _Flying?_" Tigerstrike purred.

"We will collect moss."

Birdpaw's excitement dropped. "Fox-dung," she muttered as Tigerstrike giggled with amusement.

* * *

Birdpaw groaned as the duo walked back to camp. Collecting moss was a lot harder than she thought! Her claws hurt from the scraping and clawing, but in the end they were able to collect a huge amount of moss.

They walked back into camp, and they were greeted by the kind hello of Snakefang. "You can put they in the nursery. Firekit was so bored that he shredded that nest to pieces."

Birdpaw groaned again. Not more work! She thought that being an apprentice would be fun. _I guess I was wrong._

"Fank you, Fnakefang," Tigerstrike muttered, his mouth full of moss. They carried their bedding to the nursery, where a silver Morningdust was waiting.

"I'm so sorry about this. Firekit wanted to be an apprentice so bad that he shredded the moss to tiny bits." She smirked. "Now I gave him the apprentice duty of putting the moss back in place. And after that, he's going to rid my pelt of fleas!" she purred. Birdpaw chuckled and lay her moss down. "I guess that's what he deserves," she muttered loud enough for all to hear.

Tigerstrike put his moss down too as Morningdust called her only living son to help. Firekit grumbled and dragged himself out of the nursery.

"I don't want to be an apprentice anymore! I don't I don't I-" "Shush, or you'll be cleaning out the Dirtplace too!" Firekit closed his mouth and got back to work without a word.

She left Morningdust and Firekit and turned towards Tigerstrike. "Why did you make me collect moss? Airpaw and Darkpaw and Leafpaw-"

Tigerstrike interrupted her. "I know what they said, and that isn't true. For your information, Airpaw and Leafpaw were reinforcing the camp barrier, and Darkpaw was being scolded for sleeping in. Clearmist made her clean Birchstar's den; everything about it."

Birdpaw guessed that compared to the others, she was pretty lucky. "But why moss?"

Her mentor sighed. "With every strike of your claw, you become more balanced and focused. Did you know that you were also practicing some fighting moves? Now, you will be able to aim for a paw swipe very easily."

Birdpaw gasped. "Really? Wow!"

Tigerstrike smiled. "You really are a natural," he whispered. Then, he wrapped his tail around hers for half a second, then he pulled away and went to go find Clearmist. Birdpaw just stood there, confused. What just happened? She shrugged it off, and scampered into the apprentice's den for a nice, long snooze.

Airpaw and Leafpaw were in there already. Birdpaw guessed that Darkpaw was probably wiping the snow off the leaves on the Ancient Oak, and he stiffed a purr.

"How was your day? Ours was awful. Swiftblaze and Fishleap made us reinforce the camp walls!" Leafpaw groaned.

Birdpaw yawned. "It was ok, I guess. I learned some battle moves!" she boasted. Airpaw rolled her eyes in the darkness. "Yeah, sure. Bigclaw told us that you were going to collect moss at the Dog's field."

Birdpaw frowned. "I also learned some hunting moves!" she mewed in her defence. Airpaw snorted. "Goodnight."

Birdpaw sighed. What a day! She learned so much. Snow, moss... What else is there to learn in apprenticeship?

She heard the soft snores of Airpaw and Leafpaw, letting her know that they were asleep. Before she could close her own eyes, She saw amber eyes gleaming in the darkness. She tasted the air.

"Tigerstrike?"

Her mentor nodded. "I know that you weren't very happy with your training today, so I'll make it up to you." he whispered very softly. Birdpaw's ears pricked up.

"I'm supposed to go on, a, eh, mutant patrol tomorrow. And I was thinking that, um, maybe you would like to come...?"

Birdpaw's eyes widened. "Oh, yes yes yes yes yes!" she whispered happily back. Tigerstrike smiled and his head disappeared.

Birdpaw was glowing with happiness. Her first mutant search patrol! She couldn't wait. She wondered what she would find...

She then thought of Tigerstrike. She couldn't help but wonder, _Did he invite me for my training, or a chance to bond?_

* * *

**Yay! Another chappie finito!**

**I may not update for another week or so. I still wanna study... But during the summer, I'll probably update every single day! Whoop whoop!**

**The question of the day is: What is better? Raspberry or blueberries or WAFFLES?**

**Ta ta for now,**

**\- Somebody. I bet you can't guess who! :D**


	20. Chapter 20: Patrol Time

**And tadaaaa! I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack!**

**To celebrate my 200th review, I decided to finally finish this chapter of 'Soaring Through the Clouds'. I'm sorry it took so long; I had no idea what to write!**

**Thankfully, a bunch of you wonderful people (you know who you are) helped me get some inspiration for this chapter, and I thank you a bunch!**

**Well, less talky-talky and let's get to it!**

* * *

Birdpaw yawned and stretched each of her limbs one-by-one. She looked around the apprentice's den; everybody still seemed to be sleeping. She rolled her eyes, muttered something about how they were big sleepyheads and then slipped out of the den, making sure that she did not step on anybody's tail.

She hopped through the snow towards the fresh-kill pile. There was no snow around the pile of prey; Sparkwhisker must've melted it to keep the fresh-kill fresh.

Birdpaw chose a small shrew and settled down to eat. she looked around the clearing; Sparkwhisker was standing guard for the camp, melting a few paths here and there, and Fishleap padded out of her den. The deputy tasted the frozen Leafbare air, and to Birdpaw surprise, she just walked out of the camp. Birdpaw lay there confused for a few seconds, then shrugging it off, thinking that she was just going to hunt.

The winged apprentice finished her meal in a few hungry gulps before padding back into the apprentice's den. This time, Airpaw was awake, yawning in her nest. When she spotted Birdpaw, she hopped over to her and greeted her with a grin.

"Good morning, miss Birdcat. Shall we go eat now?" the pale apprentice asked. Birdpaw shook her head. "No, I already ate a shrew. But you might want to eat soon; it's almost dawn, and I don't think you want to end up like Darkpaw, cleaning out the leader's den all day!" Airpaw nodded. "Yeah, apparently she also had to search Birchstar for ticks, too. Ew!" She made a face and Birdpaw giggled.

Suddenly, a tabby face popped into the den, staring at the two she-cats with amber eyes. "What about Birchstar?" Tigerstrike growled, fur bristling. The two apprentices looked at each other, worry in their gaze. Was Tigerstrike going to tell on them?

Tehn, Birdpaw's menotr's face cracked into a grin. "Ha, I totally got you. Come on Birdpaw, we should get ready for the mutant patrol. Airpaw, Swiftblaze will probably start looking for you. It's almost dawn."

But Airpaw didn't seem to hear. "Wow! You're going on a mutant patrol? Lucky! Why didn't you tell me?" Birdpaw shrugged. "You were asleep. Well, I'll see you tonight, I guess!" Airpaw nodded. "Alright. Bye!" she muttered wit jealousy.

Birdpaw skipped next to her mentor as they exited the den. Without a word, Tigerstrike sat down in the centre of the camp and lay there, looking up at the leader's oak tree. Birdpaw sat down and did the same.

They sat together for a few minutes in silence. Tigerstrike seemed to be waiting for something so she asked, "Who's coming with us on patrol?"

Tigerstrike looked at her with bored eyes. "Fishleap. She's usually not this late; and I checked in her den. She's not there, so she hadn't slept in."

Birdpaw nodded. "I know; I saw her leave camp alone this morning."

Tigerstrike's ears pricked up. "Alone?" he echoed. Birdpaw nodded.

As if on cue, Fishleap jumped out of the forest through the main camp entrance, carrying some prey in her jaws. Tigerstrike stood up, fur bristling. "Where have you been? We should've left ages ago!" he challenged the deputy. A few of the already awake cats came to see what was going on.

Fishleap dipped her head and dropped her prey on the camp floor. "I'm very sorry for the delay, Tigerstrike. You weren't up yet, so I decided to go hunting and restock the fresh-kill pile. With the new Leafbare, we should have all the prey we can get," she pointed out. "I managed to catch a squirrel and two thrushes, anyhow."

Tigerstrike nodded, and the fire left his eyes. "Fine, but tell us next time you leave, ok?" "Don't boss me around! You're not the leader!" Fishleap growled. Birdpaw managed a weak smile. She hoped that the two cats didn't bicker through the whole mutant patrol.

Fishleap's fur lay on her pelt. "I also noticed that most of the streams had frozen over, so I figured that we would go to RiverClan's territory looking for mutants, since it's hard to go there in Greenleaf."

Birdpaw tilted her head. "But didn't Morningdust come from RiverClan in Leaf-fall?" she wondered aloud. Fishleap turned her head and nodded. "We were visiting ShadowClan at that time, and when we found her, she was on our side of the river. She must've used all the strength she had to get over that river."

Birdpaw nodded, remembering how weak the young mutant queen had been when she first entered camp. Then she remembered how she almost did, and the dream she had with... _What were their names? Sparklefur and Shimmerpelt? Yeah, that's right,_ she thought. She also had a vague memory of something one of them said to her, like a poem or a rhyme... She quickly shrugged it off. It was not important.

Fishleap and Tigerstrike talked for a few more minutes before calling Birdpaw to join them. "Bye! Have a good time!" Sparkwhisker said from his guarding post. Birdpaw grinned back at him as the three cats raced into the chilly forest.

Fishleap took up the front and Tigerstrike was at the rear, making a line as they zigzagged through the light forest that OddClan called their home. Birdpaw remembered her training from two days ago and figured out that Fishleap was leading the patrol to the Rushing Stream; the small, vigorous river that led to the RiverClan cat's territory.

They finally reached the stream after a few minutes of silence. Birdpaw gasped as she saw it; the usually rushing river was covered by a thin layer of ice.

"I saw this when I was hunting this morning. Even the ice may be thin, I think that we can make it."

Tigerstrike nodded beside her, but Birdpaw's eyes widened with fear. "You _think_? Oh, no, this is very, very bad... Why can't we go visit ThunderClan or WindClan instead?" she whimpered, thinking about her birth Clan.

Fishleap sighed. "We went to ThunderClan quite recently, just a few days before the dog attack. And if we went to WindClan, they would probably recognize your scent. So, RiverClan it is." Birdpaw was about to ask about ShadowClan, but she closed her mouth and followed the rest of the group downstream.

They walked until it was sunhigh. Birdpaw's paws were aching, but she didn't dare say a word about it. They stopped and rested for a minute, and Tigerstrike had gotten them each a small piece of prey.

"Look, I can see the lake through the trees," Fishleap mumbled, her mouth full of vole. Birdpaw followed her gaze and saw that it was true; a large body of water rested beyond the trees. She had never seen it before, but she found it so much more beautiful then the stories; the snow around the lake made it glimmer like the night sky.

They finished their meals and padded up to the edge of the lake. The icy stream that they had been following flowed through a small crack in the ice and poured into the lake, trapping the cats in a triangle.

Birdpaw groaned. "Don't tell me that we'll have to walk on the ice to reach the marshes over there..." she mumbled unhappily. Fishleap nodded.

The winged apprentice looked at the stream that they had to cross. It looked about two foxlengths wide, and the ice looked very thin. She gulped, now scared.

"I'll go first," the deputy meowed. She walked over to the edge of the frozen stream. "Remember, Birdpaw, keep your weight in your haunches and step lightly so that your paws don't break the ice, like this."

Fishleap lightly tapped the ice with her front left paw. It creak dangerously,, and Birdpaw yelped a warning. Fishleap lashed her tail and ran across the ice, ice creaking behind her but not breaking. Birdpaw let out a sigh of relief.

"Your turn," Tigerstrike nudged Birdpaw in the wing. Her blood froze. _It's me._

She cautiously padded up to the frozen stream and placed a light paw on the ice. It didn't creak as much as Fishleap's did but she still jumped back, scared.

"I can't do it!" she wailed. "I should go back home now!" she mewed, terrified.

Tigerstrike frowned. "If you want to be a warrior one day, you must learn to conquer your fears. Now try again." Birdpaw shivered, and it wasn't from the cold. "But..."

Tigerstrike whipped his tail on her mouth. "Shush. This time, use your wings to your advantage. I know that you can't fly yet, but flap them as you run across the ice. It'll take some of the weight off of you," Tigerstrike pointed out, looking directly in her eyes. Birdpaw's heart beat faster. "I have faith in you. Now don't keep us waiting!" he snapped. Birdpaw turned around and headed back towards the edge of the stream.

She took a deep breath and flapped her wings as she stepped on the ice. It started to crack viciously, and she flapped them faster. Her feet still touched the ice, but she felt a quarter of her weight disappear. She ran across the ice as fast as she could, adrenalin pumping and ice creaking.

She crashed onto the other side of the wide stream, safe and sound. She let out the breath that she had been holding in and grinned at Fishleap, pleased. The deputy returned her gaze calmly.

"You did good out there, Birdpaw. There is only one problem..." She gaze out onto the frozen stream, and Birdpaw followed her gaze. The winged cat gasped.

The ice was cracked, all the way through, and you could she the running stream underneath. Freezing water crashed onto the snow near the two cats' paws, and Birdpaw looked worriedly at Tigerstrike on the other side on the broken ice.

"How will he be able to cross?" Birdpaw wondered guiltily. Fishleap smiled. "Have you forgotten?" Birdpaw tilted her head, confused.

Suddenly, on the other side of the river, Tigerstrike bounded into the air. Just then, a beautiful pair of golden wings sprouted from his shoulder blades. Birdpaw gasped as the newly-winged warrior flew across the Rushing Stream with his handsome wings.

Tigerstrike landed gracefully next to Birdpaw, and his golden wings disappeared. The winged apprentice gapped at him. "Woah," she managed, "That was awesome! How did you learn to fly, shapeshifter?"

Tigerstrike grinned. "Let's just say that I came from a faraway place, alright?" Birdpaw grinned back and the trio continued along their patrol through the RiverClan marshes.

They ran through the marshes as quickly and as quietly as they could. Suddenly, Fishleap stopped and sniffed the air, wonder in her eyes.

"I smell fresh RiverClan... Quick! Hide! They are coming this way!" she mewed, in a panic. Birdpaw's heart stopped as she and Tigerstrike dove behind a bunch of reeds and Fishleap buried herself in the boggy marsh.

Birdpaw held her breath as she heard voices. "You stupid excuse for a cat!" an angry tom voice growled as he slashed at something. Birdpaw heard a whimper of pain. _What is going on?_

She and Tigerstrike slowly peeked out from behind the ferns. There, they saw a black tom standing over a small lump of pale grey and black striped fur. The lump whimpered again and Birdpaw felt bad for that cat. What had it done wrong?

The dark warrior's icy blue eyes glittered with hate. "You're a mutant," he growled. Birdpaw stiffened up, and she felt Tigerstrike tense right beside her. This was what they were looking for.

"My own apprentice! And it was your first assessment, too! You think I wouldn't see that?" the black tom, probably the younger cat's mentor, by the sound of it, continued. "You thought that I wasn't looking at you but oh, yes, I was... You'd think that I'd miss... _That? _You were stalking this tiny water vole, and then you just disappeared! _Disappeared!_ Then, you appeared right next to it and killed it! I can't believe you just... You... You _Air-Traveller_!" He snarled in disgust, raking his claws across the mutant cat's flank. It, I mean she, yowled in agony as her mentor's sharp claws raked through her skin.

She looked up at him, and one of her eyes was bloody, as it had been stricken before. "I-It's called teleportation, Nightfur, and I am blessed to have such a gift," the weak cat meowed bravely as she looked into the eyes of her mentor. Her mentor roared with fury.

"I don't give a foxdung of what it's called! You are a mutant, a cursed-by-StarClan being, and I'm gonna finish you once and for all!" he roared. Birdpaw gasped. "No!" she whispered to herself. Tigerstrike's eyes glittered with hate.

Suddenly, a giant fox jumped into the clearing! Nightfur froze mid-swipe and stared at the giant creature before him. Birdpaw's blood ran cold. _Oh no!_

The russet beast looked at Nightfur and snarled. Nightfur's eyes widened, and he sprinted away, leaving his bleeding mutant apprentice of the floor of the clearing. The fox looked at the terrified and whimpering bundle of grey, black and blood, and he picked her up by the scruff. She yowled in terror and Birdpaw's fur fluffed up in fear.

"Tigerstrike, we have to go!" she screamed as she looked beside her. But Tigerstrike was not there. She looked back at the fox who was staring her way, and she understood.

Fishleap squished out of the mud and joined the fox-Tigerstrike in the clearing. Birdpaw leaped out behind the reeds and joined them. The injured apprentice trembled with fear and surprise as Tigerstrike turned back into a cat and set her back on the floor.

"Who... who are y-you?" she whimpered. Fishleap's eyes softened as she gazed at the small she-cat. She looked about the same age of Birdpaw.

"Hush, little ones. We are like you. Mutants. And we saved you. You're going to live with us now, okay?" Fishleap asked in a silky voice. The grey tabby apprentice coughed. "O-Okay."

Birdpaw gazed at the apprentice's face. It looked very badly beaten. "What's your name? I'm Birdpaw," Birdpaw said. The apprentice coughed painfully once more. "F-Fogpaw."

Then, the apprentice's eyes shut and her breathing became more and more shallow. Fishleap gasped. "Tigerstrike, she's more hurt than we thought. Bring her to Dawnwish, quickly!" she meowed urgently. Birdpaw's heartbeat quickened. Was Fogpaw really hurt that bad?

Tigerstrike nodded and sprouted his beautiful wings once more. He grabbed Fogpaw by the scruff and flew off towards the trees, over the lake. Fishleap started to run back towards the way they came. Birdpaw sprinted after her, finally catching up to her near the Rushing Stream. They both jumped over the cracked ice with ease, since they didn't have time to worry about anything.

"We have to get back to camp, quickly," Fishleap huffed as the two she-cats ran back to the OddClan camp.

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**Thanks so much for reading, guys! I love all of those who read, follow, fave and review!**

**Will Fogpaw make it? Will the two she-cats arrive in camp on time? Got any questions? Please ask!**

**One last thing - no more OCs, please! I really like them all, but it'll be hard to add all of them in the story, since I get so much of them.**


	21. Chapter 21: Eagles and Foxes

**Hey guys! Sorry that I haven't updated in a while. A bunch of crazy things have been going on so I never really had much time to write... I hope this chapter can make up for it :)**

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Specklefur grunted in annoyance as she padded through the white snow-covered moor. She never liked Leafbare; I mean, who did? She huffed once more and then flopped on the ground, defeated. "Let's take a little break, shall we? I can't walk anywhere when the snow is higher then my own paws," she muttered.

Moorpelt sighed. "Specklefur, we can't just randomly stop whenever we want to on a hunting patrol! Besides, we're supposed to be teaching the apprentices how to hunt during Leafbare," the tomcat added, beckoning to Speckletail's two children. The small apprentices were currently scooping up pawfuls of the sticky snow and then flinging it at each other, hopping around the field with cries of joy. Specklefur rolled her eyes.

"Ashpaw! Branchpaw! Stop acting like kits! We're supposed to be teaching you how to hunt in the snow, not how to attack each other with snowballs!" The two siblings stopped their fun and games and stared at their mother with frowns on their faces. "Aww, come on! It's fun! Plus, we haven't seen any prey yet anyway. We can't hunt if their's nothing to be hunted!" Ashpaw complained loudly while Branchpaw nodded his head in agreement.

Specklefur turned around and stared at Moorpelt. "They do have a point," she pointed out. "We haven't seen anything today, and my paws are starting to get cold. Let's go back to camp."

Moorpelt sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine. But you know that we'll probably have to go to sleep with empty bellies tonight, right?" he grumbled. "Speckletail shrugged. "We're all hungry anyway! Come on, let's head back to camp," she told her kits, and they started to make their way back home.

Suddenly, Branchpaw spun around and exclaimed, "Wow! Look at that bird!" The patrol looked up in the sky and saw a hawk-looking creature flying across the sky. In its talons it held a large piece of prey about the size of a small cat. The apprentices looked on in awe and the two warriors' eyes flew open wide. Specklefur's heart pounded loudly in her chest.

"Quickly, get back to camp! Eagles can grab you by their feet and eat you like prey, no matter your size. Try not to let it spot you!" The four WindClan cats ran as fast as they could in the snow, attempting to avoid the big bird. Luckily, it didn't see them and they were safe.

As the patrol made their way back to the WindClan camp, Specklefur couldn't help but picture Birdkit in her mind. What would she have been doing, if she was still alive? Specklefur shook her head to clear her thoughts. Birdkit was a thing of the past. Now, they were living in the present.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Birdpaw and Fishleap ran into the camp faster than a mouse getting chased by a cat. The way home was difficult and tiring, but they had to get back to camp as fast as they could. They needed to know whether that RiverClan apprentice, Frogpaw or something, was okay. Her old mentor seemed to have hurt her pretty bad after finding out that she was a mutant. What was so bad about mutants anyway?

As the two she-cats entered the camp, about five or six cats quickly crowded around them. "Who is that cat?" Sparkwhisker asked. "What can she do?" Airpaw wondered.

Ignoring the questions, Birdpaw and Fishleap bounded over to the medicine cat den, where they saw Dawnwish and Splashnose hard at work. The new cat's flank looked sleek and clean thanks to Dawnwish's healing powers, but the two healers were still organizing their herb stock, picking out a few leaves here and there before placing them beside their patient.

"Hey Dawnwish, thanks for taking care of her. I know that it must've been a little stressful and all, but it still looks as though you fixed her right up. Why do you still need herbs?" Fishleap asked the working cats as Birdpaw watched from behind.

"My powers only heal the outside. Your little friend here will be quite shaken up after what she's been through, so we're going to give her thyme for the shock and poppy so that she can have an easy sleep," Dawnwish replied, not looking up from her busy paws. "You two should get some rest; it must've been a long journey! Tigerstrike is already snoring away. Go to your dens and I'll call you when she wakes up." With that, she flicked her tail, telling them to leave her and Splashnose alone.

Fishleap and Birdpaw padded out of the medicine den. Birdpaw yawned, proving Dawnwish's point about needing sleep. Slipping past the crowd of questioning cats, they headed towards their dens without another word. Before she could say 'mouse', Birdpaw flopped down on her mossy nest, exhausted. She closed her eyes and without another thought, she fell asleep.

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**Ha... Sorry it was short. I promise to make it longer next time. This one was more of a filler...**

**More chappies on the way!**

**~ Moony**


	22. Chapter 22 (and announcement)

**Hey guys.**

**I'm very sorry for the 'me not updating my stories' thing. I've had no time; my life's been crazy these past few months.**

**First off, I got cancer again. My doctors told me that the osteosarcoma wouldn't return but it did. Luckily, chemo managed to shrink the tumor down and they were able to remove it without chopping off my leg some more. Physio is really long and hard, so that's why I haven't been updating. I promise to get back to writing as soon as possible.**

**Secondly, my dad got a new job around the same time of my chemo. Only thing is, it was in Canada. So now I'm a one-legged Irish teenage girl going to a new school in a new country (Canada's awesome though). It's definitely something I would have never thought to experience. (****Honestly, I think I could write a book about my life right now :P)**

**Anyway, thanks for your patience and understanding of this craziness. I've gotten a bunch of messages from you guys and it really makes me happy :) I hope you enjoy this next chapter. My next updates will probably still be slow, but I will post... Eventually.**

**Thanks for sticking with me,**

**~ Moony**

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It had been a week since Tigerstrike, Fishleap and Birdpaw rescued the small mutant apprentice from RiverClan's icy claws. During this period of time, Birchstar restricted any kit or apprentice from leaving the Clan's camp, just in case. However, this didn't stop Birdpaw and the other apprentices from battle-training with their mentors.

Birdpaw crouched down and lashed her tail back and forth. Eyes squinted in concentration, she glared at Tigerstrike, who was crouched in front of her as well. With a growl, she leaped up into the air, claws sheathed but fangs out, hurtling towards her target. Tigerstrike nimbly dodged out of her way and she landed face-first in a heaping pile of snow. Before she could get up, her mentor and pinned her down in the banks.

"You're getting better," Tigerstrike said as he released Birdpaw, "but you're still not too great. Before you leap, you're always looking in the direction that you're going to strike. This makes your attacks predictable."

Birdpaw hardly payed attention to what her mentor was teaching her these days. Her mind always wandered over to the mysterious cat that she had rescued not long ago. Whenever the former RiverClan apprentice was awake, she hardly ever spoke, and she hardly ever ate as well.

"Birdpaw? You're not listening to me!" Tigerstrike grumbled. Birdpaw's thoughts snapped back to her mentor. "This isn't like you to not pay attention."

"I'm sorry," Birdpaw mumbled. "It's just that all week we've just been practising our fighting, and, well, it's distracting when there's-" "I know, I know. I want to know more about Frogpaw or Fogpaw or whatever her name is too. But we'll just have to wait a little bit longer, okay?" Tigerstrike interrupted.

The winged apprentice sighed. "I know. I just don't understand why we have to stay confined in the camp like this. None of us did anything wrong!" Birdpaw huffed. She looked over across the clearing to see Airpaw, Darkpaw and Leafpaw practising their battle moves with their own mentors. She could tell by looking on their faces that all of those cats were pretty bored, too.

"Birchstar told us to stay in camp because RiverClan might come searching for the 'fox' that harmed their warrior and 'stole' their apprentice. If they search far enough, they could stumbled upon one of our patrols, and we can't take the risk of letting us be discovered," Tigerstrike explained.

Birdpaw sighed again. "That still doesn't help the fact that I'm very bored. Plus, it's already been a week. I bet that they stopped searching ages ago!" she complained, and Tigerstrike rolled his eyes. "I'll talk with Birchstar later," was all that he said.

Dismissed for lunch, Birdpaw hopped over to the fresh-kill pile and chose a shrew. She then padded through the snow and joined her friends near a medium-sized rock just outside the apprentices' den.

Leafpaw and Darkpaw were sharing a fluffy white rabbit, listening to Airpaw blabber on about her training with Swiftbreeze. "This whole week, all he's had me do is battle practice! Sure, it's probably good to revise your moves once in a while, but it's getting so boring! I can't wait to go out hunting and stretch my legs," she was muttering.

Birdpaw lay down in the snow and took a bite out of her shrew. "I wonder what they're going to do with Fogpaw once she's done healing," Leafpaw mumbled after a few moments of silence. The winged apprentice's ears perked up at the sound of the RiverClan cat's name. "What about her?" she asked the black she-cat.

"I don't know much, but Dawnwish says that she didn't take in the "OddClan is real" thing to well," Darkpaw intruded. Birdpaw cocked her head in confusion. "Huh?"

Airpaw sighed. "That cat's awake. You can visit her if you want." Upon hearing that, Birdpaw gobbled up the remains of her shrew and she sprinted inside of the Medicine den.

"No! I don't need anymore of that stuff!" a shrill voice shouted. Birdpaw turned her head to see a small grey she-cat with black stripes yelling at OddClan's medicine cat. Dawnwish was sitting in the corner of the den, her tail wrapped around her paws. She looked calm despite what was happening.

"Fogpaw, I know you don't want to, but please, eat the thyme," Dawnwish ordered. "You're still a little in shock from -"

"I know! But I'm not taking that stuff again! I've been stuck in this stupid den for a week and honestly, I just want to be left alone." Fogpaw slumped down onto the floor, clearly frustrated for some reason.

Birdpaw felt awkward. She coughed, alerting the medicine cat of her presence. At once, Dawnwish's ears perked up. "Birdpaw? What do you need?"

The young cat shuffled her paws. "I, uh, just came to check on F-Fogpaw, but I guess this was probably not the best time to do so," she mumbled, then turned to leave. "Wait a moment," Dawnwish called, and Birdpaw spun around. I think that some company would be good for her right now. I'll leave you two alone, then."

Dawnwish quickly padded out of the den, leaving the apprentice confused. Birdpaw turned to look at Fogpaw, who had still not noticed that she was in the den as well. Birdpaw noticed that one of the poor cat's eyes had a long scrape over it. That eyes was completely white, making Birdpaw a little bit scared.

Birdpaw cautiously walked over to Fogpaw, who was still lying down on the ground, with a bundle of herbs layed out in front of her. The small cat looked up at Birdpaw and gasped. "You - You have wings!" was the first thing that she managed to say.

Birdpaw smiled sadly. She could remember a little bit about when she herself came here. She was confused and scared, just like her.

"Yeah, I have wings. My name's Birdpaw; nice to meet you. Your name's Fogpaw, right?" she asked the astonished cat. Fogpaw nodded. "I'm guessing that you're a member of this... OddClan, right?" she mumbled.

Birdpaw smiled again. "Yeah. I'm guessing that Dawnwish told you about all this, huh? When I first learned this too, I felt confused as well." Birdpaw sat down next to the trembling she-cat.

Fogpaw laughed nervously. "I was a little shocked with the truth, I guess. I mean, RiverClan always told me that all mutants were dead, not in their own little Clan!"

The winged apprentice laughed, then attempted to change the subject. She could tell that Fogpaw was a little bit uncomfortable. The former RiverClan cat also kept eyeing her wings, which made Birdpaw feel quite uncomfortable.

"So, uh, how was RiverClan? Like, did you, well, like it there?" she asked, then realized that she had just asked the most stupid question in all of existence.

Fogpaw snorted. "I hated it. My whole life, I've had to keep my power a secret. My Clan always said that mutants are bad and stuff, and I didn't want to be exiled! Of course, my mentor Nightfur suspected me for a long time until that day..." She shuddered.

Birdpaw nodded, remembering the day that she went on her mutant patrol. "He was assessing you, found you teleporting, and hurt you right? Was he the one that scratched your eye?"

She nodded. "He tried to kill me! He managed to blind me in this eye and then... Wait a second... How do you know what happened?" she asked.

Birdpaw looked at her paws. "I was there," she replied, feeling guilty. "I helped rescued you with two other cats."

Fogpaw looked at the wall and stared into nothingness. It was silent for a long time, and Birdpaw considered leaving the den. Tigerstrike would be waiting for her to start her training again soon.

Then, a soft whisper escaped the cat's lips. "Thank you, I guess. Without you, I probably would've died." Birdpaw smiled. "No biggie. Hey, I know that you're lonely and all, so maybe I could take you on a tour of the camp, and you can meet all of our Clanmates! Some of us have some pretty cool powers! I don't think that my mentor would mind."

Fogpaw's ears perked. "Really? I would love to! If it's okay," she added, jumping up in excitement. Birdpaw smiled, and she led her new friend out of the den.

Dawnwish was sitting just outside the den, and she turned her head when she saw the two she-cats exiting the den. "Oh, good, you've made a friend," Dawnwish purred to Fogpaw and the young cat blushed. "Is it okay if I take Fogpaw on a tour of the camp?" Birdpaw asked the medicine cat. The older cat shrugged. "I don't see why not," she replied. "This will be her new home, after all."

The two cats scampered into the open clearing. Almost immediately, Airpaw, Darkpaw and Leafpaw turned around and padded up towards them. "Hey! You're Frogpaw, right? I'm Airpaw!" the excited apprentice quickly told her. Fogpaw smiled. "Nice meeting you, Airpaw. It's Fogpaw, by the way, not _Frog_paw." Birdpaw looked at the old RiverClan apprentice and noticed that she looked a little bit shy in front of the other mutants.

"Well, um, what's your names?" she asked the other two apprentices. Darkpaw introduced herself and her sister to the new cat. "I'm Darkpaw, and this is Leafpaw. What can you do? I mean, what is your power?"

As Fogpaw explained to the trio what teleportation was, Birdpaw zoned out. She noticed Fishleap talking with the other mentors, occasionally glancing towards their group. _What could they be talking about?_

"Well, have fun on the rest of your tour!" Airpaw meowed, sending Birdpaw's mind back to their little group. "Our mentors are calling us back for training. Birdpaw, I'll tell Tigerstrike that you'll miss the first bit of training. It's not like we're learning anything new." With that, the other apprentices scampered off.

Birdpaw was left alone with Fogpaw. The new apprentice looked scared but eager to learn more. _I guess she changed her mind about this place, _she thought.

"Alright. Where do we start?"


End file.
